10 Ways My Sexual Orientation Dominated My Life This Week (Page 1 of 2)

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about coming out, and he informed me that being gay was “not something that defines me, but just a small part of who I am.” Obviously I have heard this kind of statement before. You probably have, too, right? When I hear this, I immediately think, “You know, they’re right. Why does it always seem I am making such a big deal out of it?” And then, small occurrences remind me how important being gay is to my identity. Keeping that in mind, I created this list for you.

Ten ways my sexual orientation has dominated my life in the past week

1. Elections

In the past week, how many times did the presidential election enter your thoughts? As a Democrat (I know… you’re shocked, right?), I consider several issues when choosing a candidate. I am interested in the candidate’s views on the War in Iraq. I look for a candidate who is pro-choice and who seems to have a progressive agenda toward social change and welfare. I look for a candidate who has views that support my values, and I look for a candidate who will at least consider the GLBT community when making their decisions. Knowing that neither senators Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton fully support gay marriage is not a deterrent for my vote, but I have been reviewing their voting records in other areas of interest before making my final decision.

2. Legislation

I couldn’t help but be outraged by Stacey Campfield’s ridiculous introduction of the “Don’t mention gay people in school” bill. As a thinking person, I should know better than to react to actions obviously intended to grab headlines. By reacting, I am giving Mr. Campfield attention he does not deserve and by mentioning it to my friends, I am offering Mr. Campfield free advertising for his stupidity campaign.

3. Gay Mechanic

I had some car trouble this past week and had to take my car to the mechanic. A friend recommended I take my car to the “gay mechanic” in North Knoxville. I asked around about this so-called “gay mechanic” and got a pretty good recommendation. In the end, I was turned off by the run-down appearance of the shop, the poor location and lack of available parking and chose to stick with my tried-and-true mechanic on Sutherland Avenue.

4. Car Rental

I know. You’re thinking: “What does being gay have to do with renting a car?” Well, my aforementioned car trouble turned out to be nonexistent; I had worried for nothing. However, I was too gun-shy to drive my car across the state to visit my family, so I rented a car. I have rented cars in the past for weekend trips and have found that when choosing my own price on Priceline.com, my average daily rate is only $10. Unfortunately, with Priceline, I do not get to pick which company I rent from. Luckily for me, they paired me with my company of choice: Avis. As far as I know, Avis is the only rental car company that automatically includes domestic partners as additional drivers with no additional fee. Avis also has the “A Card,” which offers discounts to gay and lesbian customers on car rentals and purchases from their partners. What an amazing idea: a gay discount card!

5. Work

Well, you know that I am a social worker by trade. In my current position, I work as a staff trainer in areas ranging from CPR to Crisis Development. I am also responsible for leading a diversity discussion with new employees. That discussion is probably one of my favorite things about my job, but I am very cautious to cover all areas of diversity and to avoid paying too much attention to sexuality issues. One reason for my caution is I think racism is much more prevalent in the workforce and, therefore, deserves more attention in the discussion. Another reason is I think it would be easy for staff or new employees to hear me talk about sexual orientation and assume that I have an agenda.

6. Writing a Will

Since my mom passed away in 2006, I have thought a lot about death and the end-of-life decision-making process. I realize in an emergency situation, without proper documentation, there is a chance my partner will not be permitted to visit me in the hospital. If my partner is not explicitly written into my will, he risks losing everything in the life we have created together because without the will, our relationship may not be recognized. In the past week, I began to research viable options for writing a will and determining which other legal documents we might need to be best prepared for our future together.