CHARTER Soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi exists to offer support, understanding, and friendship to young people who are coming to terms with their sexuality, which may differ from the heterosexual norm. These people often suffer from unimaginable shame and guilt because they feel attracted to members of the same sex, or to both sexes; should these feelings become publicly known, these young people may become outcasts in their communities. As a result, they feel that they must hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, even their own families and friends, and they feel alone and unloved. These feelings are reflected in studies that show the suicide rate among gay, lesbian and bisexual youths to be higher than in other groups of the same age. Thus, soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi exists for these young people to express their feelings in an understanding, friendly forum. The intent of this newsgroup is to let these people know that they are not alone, and that there are people they can turn to for friendship and comfort. Because of the sensitive nature of this subject, people who post on this newsgroup may prefer to write their messages anonymously. Lists of anonymous remailers will be posted here on a regular basis, for the benefit of those who wish to keep their identities secret. This newsgroup will be moderated, and all messages posted here will be subject to the approval of the moderators. This is done for two reasons: 1) Sadly, there are people who post insulting, degrading, hateful messages to gay-oriented newsgroups as a way of starting arguments solely for their own selfish entertainment. Such flamers will not be allowed here. 2) There are older people who seek out young people for sexual purposes. This newsgroup is intended for young people to express their feelings and comfort others, and for adults to offer advice and friendship to youths; it is not meant for "chicken hawks" to seek out boys and girls for sex. Thus, messages of that sort will also not be allowed here. DISCLAIMER: The moderators of this newsgroup cannot read private email received by anyone other than themselses. The moderators exist to serve as a buffer between the members of this newsgroup and those whom the moderators believe would cause harm the members of this newsgroup by posting messages that the moderators deem to be harmful. The moderators can only control messages sent to this newsgroup; they cannot control messages sent directly to others through email. Therefore, the moderators cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any actions resulting from the exchange of private email between anyone connected to Usenet or anywhere else on the Internet, including this newsgroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi FAQ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents 1. About this FAQ 1.1 Administrivia 1.2 Credits 2. About the Newsgroup 2.1 What is the purpose of the newsgroup? 2.2 How do I post? 2.2.1 My post hasn't shown up yet! 2.2.2 What languages can I post in? 2.2.3 Can I post anonymously? 2.2.4 I'm getting an error message when I attempt to post! 2.3 Who can participate? 2.3.1 I'm in my 30s/40s/50s/etc... can I post to ssyglb? 2.4 What is the moderation policy? 2.4.1 I'd like to do research/post a survey about glbtq youth... 2.5 Can I access the group via a mailing list? 2.6 Is the group archived? 3. Resources for sexual minority youth 3.1 I want to get in contact with other queer youth 3.1.1 On the Net 3.1.2 Penpal Services 3.2 I live in "SomeCity" -- where can I go to find support? 3.2.1 Britain 3.2.2 Canada 3.2.3 France 3.2.4 USA 3.2.5 Australia 3.3 What about books? 3.3.1 Pointers to lists of books 3.3.2 Recommended Fiction 3.3.3 Recommended Non-Fiction 3.3.4 How do I get these books? 3.4 What about my parents? 3.5 Organisations specifically dedicated to glbtq youth 4. Other resources for sexual minority youth 4.1 USENET 4.2 Religious resources 4.2.1 Christian 4.2.2 Jewish 4.2.3 Unitarian Universalist -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 About this FAQ This FAQ serves as an introduction and resource guide for the newsgroup soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi. Please read this document before posting to the newsgroup. 1.1 Administrivia The most current copy of this FAQ can always be found at http://www.ssyglb.org/faq.html. If you have comments, corrections, additions, or things you would like to see in this FAQ, e-mail Kalev and he'll be happy to change/fix things. There are quite a few references in this document that have URLs pointing to the Queer Resource Directory (QRD). To quote from the soc.motss FAQ, maintained by Stephanie Smith and Greg Havican: "All files are accessible via email, FTP, gopher, WAIS, and the world wide web. To receive a copy of the current QRD FAQ file, which includes instructions for using all of the QRD's many access methods, send mail to info@qrd.org. An autoreply will be generated and mailed back to you immediately." This FAQ is copyright © 1995 Jane Patterson/copyright © 1996 by Mary L. Gray/copyright © 2000 2001 Kalev Hunt and is made available as a service to the Internet community. It may not be sold in any medium, including electronic, CD-ROM, or database, packaged with any commercial product, or published in print, without the explicit, written permission of the authors. 1.2 Credits ssyglb would like to thank the following people for their assistance and contributions to this FAQ: Joe Reilly (the original author of this FAQ), Harry Rezzemini, the staff of the QRD, DeaconMac, John David Moss, Reid Fishler, FREELORN@maths.bham.ac.uk, glbyouth@aol.com, David Casti, Stephanie Smith, Greg Havican, Greg Harma, Matt Black, Andrew Zolli, the wonderful people at Youth Action Online, Dave Stringer-Calvert, and Mary Gray. (table of contents) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 About the newsgroup 2.1 What is the purpose of the newsgroup? soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi is specifically a support group for young lesbians, gay men, bisexuals or transgendered persons. Its purpose is to provide a safe and regulated forum where such persons and their friends can help each other with support and advice drawn from their own experiences in coming to terms with their non-mainstream sexuality or gender identification. The charter of the group explains the initial conception for the group. 2.2 How do I post? At most sites, simply posting a message to the newsgroup in the normal manner will result in your post being sent to one of the moderators. If this does not work, you can e-mail your post directly to the moderation system by writing ssyglb-submit@ssyglb.net. If you have a question about posting, or want to know if your post ever got to a moderator, e-mail the moderators at ssyglb-mods@ssyglb.net. 2.2.1 My post hasn't shown up yet! Once our moderation system receives your posting, you will receive an automated receipt message. Once your post is approved, you will receive an automated message notifying you of its approval. If your post is rejected, you will receive an e-mail with th e text of your post and the reason it was rejected. However, if you follow the common USENET practice of "munging" your email address to prevent spam (i.e. giving an invalid return address), please note that you will not receive any automated replies fro m our system nor will you receive a rejection notice if your post is rejected by the moderators. Because this is a moderated newsgroup run by volunteers, it can take several days for your post to be processed and, once processed, several days to travel t hrough USENET and reach your news server. Please be patient and wait a week before contacting the moderators regarding your posting which did not appear. Keeping in mind that postings do sometimes get lost in the vast reaches of cyberspace, it is a good idea to get into the habit of keeping copies of your postings until you see them appear on ssyglb in case one or more of your postings is lost in your initial attempt to get it posted. 2.2.2 What languages can I post in? Though the predominant language on ssyglb is English, we welcome submissions in languages the current moderators can read. Currently this includes French and Spanish. Foreign-language submissions will be judged by the same standards as all other submissions. 2.2.3 Can I post anonymously? If you put a statement at the top of your message, in BIG, PROMINENT TYPE asking for your post to be anonymised, we will post it without any identifying information. (People reading ssyglb will not be able to email you if you do this, however, so all replies to your posting will have to be via the newsgroup.) We will not disclose the email address of an anonymous poster under any circumstances. However, all submissions MUST contain a valid e-mail address that the moderators can use to contact the poster. If your message does not contain a valid return address, it will not only be rejected, but the moderators will not be able to inform you when and why it was rejected. As an alternative to having the moderators anonymise your post, you can sign up for a free, web-based email address such as those available through Yahoo!, Netscape, Hotmail, etc., to post with. While this will not provide total anonymity, it will allow posters to hide their actual name and/or location but still receive replies via email and allow them to develop a voice of their own rather than being assigned the generic fake email identity. 2.2.4 I'm getting an error message when I attempt to post! If you're getting an error or "bounce" message when you attempt to post to ssyglb, please feel free to forward the message to our technical team and they'll be happy to help you out. 2.3 Who can participate? ssyglb is, as the name implies, a safe space for sexual minority youth. We invite and encourage people of all ages and orientations to participate if you feel you have something helpful or constructive to contribute, but discussion must be youth-specific. 2.3.1 I'm in my 30s/40s/50s/etc... can I post to ssyglb? We welcome posts from people of all ages in ssyglb, provided that they are specific to glbtq youth. For instance, if you wish to share your experiences in the hopes they may benefit younger readers, you are encouraged to do so. 2.4 What is the moderation policy? ssyglb is moderated in order to make it a safe forum with little to no spam or other off-topic messages. Although the ssyglb charter presents broad guidelines for what type of messages will be rejected, moderation policy has ev olved over the years to ensure that ssyglb is as supportive and welcoming a space for glbtq youth as possible. To that end, the charter interpretation as it currently stands is: ssyglb rejects ad hominem personal attacks, unnecessary profanity or any other sort of flaming behavior. Strongly worded disagreements or rebuttals will not be rejected where they don't cross the line into gratuitous abuse or four-letter diatribes. As a support group, soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi does not operate under the principle of "equal time." Consequently, under no circumstances will the moderators approve any messages containing homophobic abuse, declarations of the supposed immorality, condemnation or blanket judgement of homosexuality derived from any religious or secular source, or any other submission which the moderators consider contrary to the mutua lly supportive and friendly atmosphere of the group. In keeping with the above, the moderators would like to specifically point out that they are not swayed by arguments citing violation of First Amendment rights. For one, ssyglb is an international newsgroup not bound by American law and for another, moderated newsgroups by their very nature exclude certain types of speech. ssyglb thrives solely based on the fact that it is moderated and the moderators encourage others with points of view not suitable for posting on ssyglb to create their ow n forums online. Off-topic posts will be rejected: ssyglb is a group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, and questioning young people and their friends and allies to exchange information and support relevant to their youth and sexuality. Any submission w hich is not of specific relevance to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered youth - whether to specific people or in the abstract - is off-topic for this newsgroup. This includes most notices of glbtq events and resources unless it is made very clear th at these pertain to youth. Posts without a valid e-mail address attached will be rejected. The moderators are willing to anonymise messages, or approve posts from anonymous remailers, but the moderators must be able to contact the person who sent the post. Cross-posted articles will be rejected. Binaries or uuencoded files are not allowed on ssyglb. All binaries should be posted in the binary groups. If you wish to present an image or other binary file, we recommend you make it available on the web and point people to the appropriate URL. Personal ads are not approved under any circumstances. Requests for email which do not contain any other content of relevance or interest to the other readers of the group may be approved at the moderators' discretion, but any request for email should be: Non-sexual in nature. Sexual requests are always rejected whatever form they take. Tagged on to an introduction to the other readers of the group, (a "demuffining") of sufficient length and detail to make interesting reading and add to the group atmosphere and dynamic. "Hi, My name's Peter and I'm 19. Does anyone else live in Nort h Carolina? Email me if you do." is a (fictitious) example of the sort of submission the moderators receive all the time which adds nothing to the group and says nothing that is likely to encourage public discussion. Requests for information that is in the FAQ are rejected. General discussions of gay politics/issues that aren't specifically youth related aren't appropriate to ssyglb. (soc.motss, soc.bi, alt.politics.homosexuality, and other forums are more suitable forums.) The moderators reserve the right to edit approved posts. All personal snail mail addresses or telephone numbers will be removed from submissions. The moderators also reserve the right to change their interpretation of the charter at any time if they deem it necessary to maintain the integrity of ssyglb or to further the aims of the group. 2.4.1 I'd like to post a survey/do research on queer youth Articles submitted from researchers, authors, etc. requesting infomation for their projects will be approved provided they: Exclude questionnaires -- requests for participants are acceptable. Introduce themselves to the readership, outlining the significance of their work to the group. Agree to share the relevant findings with the group upon completion of their projects. Agree to respect the rights and privacy of the responses taken from the group. (Receiving permission from posters for reprints of their comments.) 2.5 Can I get this via a mailing list? No. There was at one time a mailing list for the group, but it fell into ill-repair owing to neglect. 2.6 Is the group archived? There is no archive of the group kept by the moderators but many third-party web-based USENET providers such as Google Groups, among others, maintain USENET archives where you can find old posts from ssyglb. Important note: Because the group is archived, you need to be aware that your posts will be publicly accessible to any of your family members, friends, current or future employers, etc. As a result, you might want to think twice before posting to ssyglb if you are worried about your sexual orientation being revealed to third parties. If you are concerned, check out the suggestions at Section 2.2.3. Google Groups honours the "X-No-Archive: yes" header. If you place this line in your message headers or as the very first line of your message, Google will not archive your message in their USENET repository. In addition, you can find out how to remove articles from Google. (table of contents) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Resources for Sexual Minority Youth 3.1 I want to get in contact with other queer youth As you will have noted in the moderation policy, we prefer not to accept posts that are just requests for contact. But there are lots of ways to get in contact with other queer youth. 3.1.1 On the net The newsgroup is, of course, a great place to meet people. Get involved in the discussions, and you should find some new friends fairly quickly. On Internet Relay Chat, visit the #gayteen channel. There are a large number of queer-related mailing lists, ranging from Queer Catholics to Bisexual Theory Discussion. The best list is available from the QRD at http://www.qrd.org/QRD/electronic/email/lgbt-list-of-lists.html There is a new list for young women: from eaog312@ea.oac.uci.edu GIRL, a list for and about girls, grrrls, young women, lesbian and feminist youth, "babydykes", "young and angrys"... (female and approximately 25 and younger). This list is private and unmoderated: to subscribe, it's mandatory that you send a brief bio (100 words or more) including your age, interest in the list, anything about your background, work, experiences or commitments, and anything else you want the listmembers to know (bios are posted when your subscription is accepted- you must request otherwise or this will be done automatically). The list is available in digest form, request this in your bio if you want this option. To subscribe, send a bio to: girl@uci.edu 3.1.2 Penpal services IGYLO [Contributed by IGLYO chair Thomas Tichelmann, ay361@torfree.net] International Lesbian and Gay Youth Organization (IGLYO) has an international penpal service for anyone under 27. "Write to: IGLYO Main Secretariat PO Box 542 NL-1000 AM Amsterdam the Netherlands Please include a copy of any ID (so we can verify your age and that your are eligible, the data is protected by the European Data Protection Act), write a little bit about yourself and what you are looking for. IGLYO will then get back to you with other participants of the Penpal service. THIS SERVICE IS FREE OF CHARGE (However donations are welcome)" Orion Orion Services operates a glb penpal service, including a special youth service. Send an SASE to POBox 139, Hagaman, NY, 12086 Alyson Publications I know that Alyson publications used to have a youth penpal service, but I can't find any information about it. I would appreciate the details, if anyone has them. 3.2 I live in SomeCity. Where can I go to find support? The following are ways of getting information via the Internet about "real life" resources. 3.2.1 Britain [Contributed by FREELORN (FREELORN@maths.bham.ac.uk)] I've set up some Resource pages for L/G/B people which include details of youth groups, safer sex advice, advice/help phone lines, coming out stories, a shops/pubs/clubs guide and information and links to other organisations on theinternet. It covers all of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and more information is always being added. It is accessible at http://phymat.bham.ac.uk/LGB/ and any articles for submission can be sent to LGB@bham.ac.uk (please specify how anonymous you want the article to be). I do reserve the right to edit the articles for length and suitability (arcane British Laws and University restrictions). I'm really looking for British contributors or contributors that know the British scene. If you have any questions about submitting then do contact either LGB@bham.ac.uk or freelorn@maths.bham.ac.uk. 3.2.2 Canada GayCanada.com is a good starting point for Canadian glbt resources. QueerAmerica also list Canadian resources. 3.2.3 France The French QRD is at http://www.casti.com/FQRD/fqrd.html and http://acacia.ens.fr:8080/home/delmas/fqrd/fqrd.html 3.2.4 USA The QueerAmerica database exists to find glbtq resources in the U.S. 3.2.5 Australia The QRD page on Australia at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/pacific/australia/ The ALSO Foundation at http://www.also.org.au/ 3.3 What about Books? Books are wonderful resources. They don't talk back, or react in ways you weren't expecting, and they contain lots and lots of information. I cannot personally vouch for all the books listed here - they were recommended by a multitude of people, who have different tastes. Please remember that if you don't like a book, even if someone else thinks it is the best guide to coming out (or whatever) ever written, it's just a book, not a holy writ, and you should make up your own mind about any advice given therein. 3.3.1 Other lists of relevant fiction Before we get into the recommendations of ssyglb readers, I would like to recommend the "Alternative Sexualities in Fantasy and SF" list maintained by M.A. Mohanraj. It is posted occasionally and available on the WWW at http://mud.bsd.uchicago.edu/~mohanraj/balist.html. At the QRD, try http://www.qrd.org/QRD/media/books/, or the Lambda Literary Foundation at http://www.lambdalit.org and another list, compiled by Lambda Rising Bookstore, is at http://plains.uwyo.edu/~lasaga/lists.html, and yet another at http://www.armory.com/~web/gaybooks.html 3.3.2 Recommended fiction The following books have been recommended by readers of ssyglb or soc.motss. (and I am still taking recommendations :) Most of them are novels about coming out. Spelling has been cut and pasted from the messages, and is not guaranteed. Starred entries are endorsed by at least one of the moderators. "Ambidextrous: a memoir in the form of a Novel" (Felice Picano) "Landscape: Memory" (Matthew Stadler) "White People" (a collection of short stories by Alan Garaganus) "Funny Boy" (Shyam Selvadurai) "Magic's Pawn","Magic's Price", "Magic's Promise" (Mercedes Lackey) * "Pagan Babies" (Greg Johnson) "Rubyfruit Jungle" (Rita Mae Brown) * "Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian, A Literary Anthology" (edited by Bennett L. Singer) "Tales of the City" (Armistead Maupin) * "Half Way Home", "Becoming A Man"[autobiography] (Paul Monette) "Surprising Myself" (Christopher Bram) "A Home at the End of the World" (Michael Cunningham) "River Road" (C. F. Borgman) "The Boys on the Rock" (John Fox) "The Aerodynamics of Pork" (Patrick Gale) "Maurice" (E. M. Forster) "A Boy's Own Story" and its sequel "The Beautiful Room is Empty" (Edmund White) "The Best Little Boy in the World" (John Reid) "Annie on my Mind" (Nancy Garden) "Entries From A Hot Pink Notebook" (Todd D. Brown) "Living Upstairs" (Joseph Hansen) "A Stranger in the Family" (Terry Sanderson) [British] "Empress of the World" (Sara Ryan) +"Rainbow Boys" (Alex Sanchez) 3.3.3 Recommended non-fiction "Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian, Gay, and Jewish." (editors, Christie Balka and Andy Rose) Boston: Beacon Press, 1989. ISBN # 0807079081. "Coming Out to Parents: a two-way survival guide for lesbians and gay men and their parents" (M.V. Borhek) Pilgrim Press, Cleveland,1993. "Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out" (Edited by L. Hutchins & L. Kaahumanu) Alyson Publications, Boston, 1991. "Reflections of a Rock Lobster" (Aaron Fricke) [autobiography] "Taking A Chance on God" (John J McNeil) [for Catholics] +"Two Teenagers in Twenty" Edited by Ann Heron, Alyson Publications +"Outing Yourself" Michelangelo Signorile "In Your Face: Stories from the Lives of Queer Youth" by our very own co-moderator, Mary L. Gray!! 3.3.4 How do I get these books? A queer bookstore, if you can find one, is usually a wonderful place, where you can find information about support resources in your community as well as books. If you can't find one or are not ready to go to one yet: Answer 1: Go to the library. [Contributed by harry.rezzemini@library.gatech.edu (Harry Rezzemini)] "An "ISBN" is an International Standard Book Number, by which any bookstore worthy of that name would be able to order the title for you. Also, for those inquiring minds...like me...who have little cash to back up book-buying sprees, I encouage you to use libraries. That's not only because I work in one--but because I do, I can attempt to reassure you that by and large, libraries TRY and most often SUCCEED to be safe places to...explore. One early post to s.s.y.glb mentioned fears about checking out books on sexuality...well, okay. It's uncomfortable to and that person across the counter your selections--but know this: libraries have iron-clad rules (backed up by legal precedent) against telling ANYONE what you've checked out. That's why when Bozo checks out the only copy of the book EVERYONE needs for a class...the folks at the front desk CAN'T tell you who has it. It's against the law. So go check out those uncomfortable books--consider it practice for BUYING CONDOMS! Also know that the American Library Association is one of the staunchest opponents of censorship or book-banning or limiting the unrestricted access of everyone to information, in any way. That's not to say that policies may not be in place in your local library which might be different." Answer 2: Mail/Internet Order Virtually every gay and lesbian book in print (and thousands of out-of-print titles) can be ordered from Lambda Rising Bookstores, http://www.lambdarising.com. 3.4 What about my parents? Coming out to your parents is probably one of the harder things most of us do in our coming-out process. There is no one easy answer for the "proper" way to do it -- if you have questions about coming out to your parents, please ask them on the group, where there is frequently lively discussion on that very topic. And yes, we'd love to hear your coming out stories. :) PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has support groups for parents of gay children. You can call 202-638-4200 in the U.S. to find a chapter near your parents. They also have excellent pamphlets about coming out. You can get more information from Emily Rizzo, a PFLAG member on the 'net. Her e-mail address is Rizzoe@fasecon.econ.nyu.edu, and she can send you more information. (Thank you, Emily!) Please note that the 1-800 number is no longer available. 3.5 Organizations specifically dedicated to glbt youth Youth Action Online (YAO) [Contributed by loco@youth.org (The Logging On/Coming Out program at YAO)] Youth Action Online (YAO) can be found on-line. "We're here to provide a safe place for queer and questioning youth to be OUT, loud, and themselves online. We continue our goal to bring queer youth agencies together on the Net by offering our server and tech consulting to youth and allies creating a web presence..we'll even help you build the page!! For more info contact: mlgray@youth.org, project leader for the loco program. The American Friends and Service Committee (AFSC) Bridges Project [Contributed by Mary L. Gray (mlgray@youth.org)] The Bridges Project provides information and referral services to youth and agencies working to support glbt issues. Bridges also supplies information packets for a variety of organizational/strategizing needs. For more information contact bridges@afsc.org. Make sure to check out the Bridges Homepage at http://www.afsc.org/bridges.htm Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition, Inc. [Contributed by Greg Harma (gregharma@aol.com)] Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition is a growing organization whose Mission is to enrich and foster the positive growht and development of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth and transgender youth through education, information, advocacy, self-empowerment, resource development, collaboration, coalition building, and community. Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition is working with a local child-serving agency to create and implement a 24-hour hotline for young people who are experiencing issues around sexual orientation or gender orientation. RAINBOW PRIDE HOTLINE (1-800-291-9190) began July 1, 1994 and is available for support/crisis intervention and information/referral. To receive more information or to speak with someone about the ways in which you or your organization may become involved, please contact us at 614/447-7199 or write to us: Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition, Inc. PO Box 8104 Columbus, OH 43201 International Lesbian and Gay Youth Organization IGLYO's objectives are: to improve the lives of young lesbians, gays and bisexuals worldwide to bring an end to discrimination to support the emancipation of young lesbians, gays and bisexuals worldwide to create equal opportunities for all young people More information is available from: IGLYO Main Secretariat PO Box 542 NL-1000 AM Amsterdam the Netherlands IGLYO America PO Box 42463 Washington DC 20016-0463 USA IGLYO is a registered non-profit organization in the European Union (based in Amsterdam) and the USA (table of contents) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Other Resources for sexual minorities Disclaimer: This section does not attempt to cover everything, as that has been done before, and duplicating the effort would be silly. So what follows is mostly pointers to large collections of resources. 4.1 USENET There are several other Usenet groups for sexual minorities. The FAQs for soc.motss,soc.bi, and soc.support.transgendered are all excellent sources of information, and can be found in the FAQ archives at rtfm.mit.edu, as well as in their groups of origin and news.answers. 4.2 Religious resources Many of us face apparent contradiction or lack of support in our communities of faith. We can be surprised and relieved to find support within our religious groups. Please be aware that the following are Seattle-centric. Please feel free to email me additions in any category or additions of categories. Many faiths are omitted because I am lacking information. If you don't see something that addresses you, please post to the newsgroup to find out where your support is in your community of faith. 4.2.1 Christian Many communities house a Metropolitan Community Church, which is a Christian Church specifically dedicated to serving the sexual minority Christian Community. The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement can be reached on the web and by snail mail at The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) Oxford House Derbyshire Street London E2 6HG U.K. Dignity is a faith community of lesbian, gay, bisexual Catholics, & their families & friends. We celebrate our inherent dignity with pride in liturgy, mutual support, seeking justice, common action, & social activities. Information, including contact information, for Dignity is available from the QRD at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/religion/orgs/DIGNITY/. A Dignity listserv (dignity@american.edu) can be subscribed to via listserv@american.edu. Affirmation is a support and social network for L.D.S. (Mormon) gays & lesbians, their families, & friends. Monthly meetings & social activities. Outstanding newsletter; nationally affiliated. (Affirmation/Seattle can be contacted at P.O. Box 23223, Seattle, WA 98102) Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns have their newsletters available on the web. There is a queer Christian mailing list - contact LUTI-owner@vector.casti.com for details. 4.2.2 Jewish Beth El Binah, a queer Jewish congregation in Texas. 4.2.3 Unitarian Universalist Unitarian Universalism is a liberal, non-dogmatic church that officially confirmed (in the 1970s) its acceptance of gay and lesbian people. Most UU ministers will perform committment ceremonies for same-sex couples. A plethora of information about UUs and queer concerns can be found on the web.