National PFLAG has developed a national website called Stay Close, which in addition to reminding parents, family members and friends the importance of remaining close to their LGBT family, offers a confidential forum to ask questions about specific issues, answers sensitive questions about LGBT experiences, and has many stories from families, like yours. For more on PFLAG's Stay Close Campaign, click here.

Learning more about the lives of LGBTs will help replace stereotypes with facts and help deepen your appreciation for your loved ones. For suggested reading, click here.

Bisexuality is often a contensious subject with LGBTs as well as straights. Some lesbians and gay men view bisexuals as unaccepting of their homosexuality or unable to commit. Straights, particularly in the 1980s, blaimed bisexual men for HIV's introduction into the heterosexual population. The bisexual experience greatly varies with amount of attraction to one sex and type of relationships. Some commit to one partner while others engage in polyamourous lifestyles, openly or clandestinely.

Trying to change is dangerous and doesn’t work.
So-called "ex-gay" or reparative therapy hurts gay people and only drives their same-sex attraction deeper into the closet. Even reparative therapy organizations admit to a 30% success rate. That entails lessened homosexual attraction, without necessarily adopting heterosexual behavior. It does not change their innate orientation. Attempts to change sexual orientation originate from cultural bias based on myth, misperception and misunderstanding. Our challenge is not to change LGBT people, but to change the cultural bias that denies their full humanity.

American Psychiatric Association:
"Psychiatric literature strongly demonstrates that treatment attempts to change sexual orientation are ineffective. However, the potential risks are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior..."

American Medical Association:
"Most of the emotional disturbance experienced by gay men and lesbians around their sexual identity is not based on physiological causes but rather is due more to a sense of alienation in an unaccepting environment. For this reason, aversion therapy (a behavioral or medical intervention which pairs unwanted behavior, in this case, homosexual behavior, with unpleasant sensations or aversive consequences) is no longer recommended for gay men and lesbians. Through psychotherapy, gay men and lesbians can become comfortable with their sexual orientation and understand the societal response to it."

Many LGBT people are religious and are being increasingly welcomed by congregations.
Issues of spirituality are one of the greatest challenges that many LGBT people face due to the teachings of their childhood, the views of many religious institutions, and the current political climate. Despite traditional condemnation from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, many LGBT people are very religious in these faiths as well as in others. Many LGBT individuals question their religious upbringing or feel outside the boundaries that many religious groups consider acceptable. This frequently lead to feelings of separation from God. Some ask themselves why God hates them. This often results in depression and, in the worst cases, suicide.

It is important for LGBTs to be aware of the increasing number of mainline denominations becoming "open and affirming" or "welcoming" congregations. While those which are said to be open and affirming may invite lgbt individuals to come and worship with them they may find that they are only invited to participate in certain aspects of the church: "You may worship here but you are not welcome to receive communion, be baptized, have a same sex union performed or become a member." In many cases, this leads to yet another level of spiritual injury or seperation from church and God for these individuals as they discover that while they are welcome they are not fully accepted.

To find open and affirming Christian churches, click here.

For religious tolerance.

For gay spirituality.com.

Transexuality is about gender identity.
Transgenderism differs from sexual orientation in that transexuality is not related to whom a person is sexually attracted to. Instead, trans people feel more comfortable behaving in ways culturally linked to the other sex. Some trans people only cross dress in private; others "transition" to living their entire life as the member of the opposite sex. Those who transition may or may not have surgery to change their physical appearance to match their internal gender. I?tersex, called hermaphrodite in the past, is where a person is born with both male and female genitals.
Transgendered persons has existed in multiple cultures throughout time. The hijras of India-Pakistan-Nepal, the manus of Hawaii, the keyotara of Thailand, and the berdache of multiple American Indian nations all cross dress and often surgerically alter their external appearance. Scholars and others argue whether these individuals are transexuals or a cultural development to understand same sex attraction.

For PFLAG Transgender Network Support, an organization specifically for transgenders, their families and friends, click here.

For Trans news, events, publications worldwide, click International Federation for Gender Education, the leading Trans oriented web site.