What comes to your mind when you hear the word honosexual? The same things that comes to your mind are probly the same things that came to my mind years ago. I remember when I was little you never heard much about homosexuals, they are just seem to keep to themselves. But in the late 80's and the earily 90's I remember my father talking about them. It was during the time that they were beganing to come out and and the army didn't allow gays in the army. I chose the essay "Burls'" By Bernard Cooper because it is about him as a young boy and his coming to the realization that he was gay. I can relate to it because in the past ten years I have became friends with many gays and I have realized that they are no different then you and me.
If you wish to find out anything about the world of a homosexual it is fairly easy. In todays day and age they are all kinds of information out their and people are not afraid to come out and say that they were gay. So I had no problem finding material on the subject of homosexuals.
When it came to chosing my gernes I did have a small problem in tring to pick which on to use. With the help of my classmates and Professor Darby I came up with the gernes of a flyer for a Drag Queen show, a journal entry.
I chose the the flyer because I wanted to show that they are places to go that that homosexuals show their true self. There was a part in the esaay where Cooper for the first time get to see a drag queen outside the cafe Burls'. Next I chose to write a jounral entry of Cooper's point of veiw when he was waiting for the bus and realizeed that he did like women.
For my connecting devices I went back though the essay and found quotes to use that went with what my gerne was about.
This is the first I have every done a paper like this. I enjoyed writing and doing this paper although at times I find it differcult to come up with things to write in the gernres but all in all I would prefer to do a paper like this over a regruel reaseach paper.

I am going to do a profile on a famous gay person. I have thought of going to a gay bar this weekend, like the stone wall, but I can't find anyone to go with me and I never go to bars alone. So I have found a list of famous people I am going to do research on. Here is some: Ru Paul, Matthew Sherpard, or Chastity Bono. Any Suggestions would be great.

Profile:
Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Etheridge is a singer of modern rock who has come out of the closet so to speak. She was born in Leavenworth, Kansas to John and Elizabeth Etheridge. Her father died before her coming out but her mother is still living. I went to ask her some questions about how she feels about the turns of events. Now that she is a mother and a strong female idle.
Melissa, you seem to be a strong woman figured today how you feel about people saying that you are a feminist. Do you think that you are one? ”Absolutely. When my first album came out in 1988 people would ask me, "Are you a feminist?" and I wouldn't know what it was. Feminism had gotten such a bad reputation. I'd say "Oh no, I'm just making music." I didn't understand what feminism was until 1992 when I read Susan Faludi's book, Backlash. I realized that what we were being fed about feminism, not feminism itself, was scaring away young women like myself who were just coming into their own. I believe in equality - professionally, politically, personally. That's feminism.”
When you came out at President Clinton's inaugural ball and told the world that hey I’m gay what made you do it. "I have a lot of reasons for it," she said of the turnabout. "If I'm willing to talk about it and be up front about it and truthful, the majority of the people actually respect that and leave me alone. I get more privacy.” How did your mother take it? “That was one of the first real discussions we ever had. She knew I was gay, but we hadn't really talked about it. I said, "Hey, I think we should talk about this a little bit," and that was when we had out first real conversation. She has been very supportive.” You and her didn't along to well there at first. Why was that? "I didn’t really get to know my mother until I was 25. After my father died and she retired, we got really close. She went through a big change. She discovered herself, and it made a big difference to her own personal journey. Right now she's one of my best friends.”
How do you feel about your values in life and how you have changed over the years? “Where my values come from is in recognizing intolerance, in myself and in others. I am a growing, learning human being. I've certainly changed from 10 years ago, from the 25-year-old who wrote the first album. The experiences now are different, what I draw on is different, and I want to be different. I want to get more into different places of my life for writing.
You spoke out about the proposition 22 in the March 7th ballot which would prohibit California from legally recognizing same-sex marriages that was legally done in other states. What are your views on that? "What Proposition 22 does is tell me, my partner, my children, that we are less than my neighbor."
On this last note what do think the future has in store for you. "It is new territory. It gets kind of scary. You just hope. You try to believe in the inherent goodness in human beings. We all have different opinions, and that's fine. But we all live and let live. It actually gives me a lot of hope about this world, and especially about our country. I don't know what ultimately will happen there. As long as I stay true to myself and honest in my work and create respectable, good work, then all that other stuff will eventually fade."
How true those words ring a bell it only people can stay true to themselves and judge people on their works and actions and not on their character and how the live or look we could all get head in life.

Web page: cybernietic.com/etheridge/home/idex.php
Quotes from: Maureen Littlejohn, “Modern Woman”, April 1996

As long as can remember I have known about people that are attraced to the same

sex. My father always believe in telling us about the things going on in the world. But I

always figure I would never get to see it myself. Well, when I was sixteen I got a job at a

little resturant called the House of Pizza. It was a mom and pop sort of place where

you got to know everybody you worked with. There was this cook that I always talked

to, her name was Jennifer, that I thought I knew pretty well. She dressed alittle boyish

and had a boyish hair cut but I thought nothing of it because I used to have short hair

and my being a tomboy I wear boyish clothes at time. So I have never gave it any

thought that she could be gay. She even had a boyfriend. My friend would always pick

at me and tell me that she liked me. There was this one time that she went to an

amusment park and brought me back some stuff. One of the things was a lttle glass

dragon because she knew that I loved dragons. Then she raised her shirt sleeve

and said that I got my and she got hers, which was a dragon tatoo. I just thought it

look cool. Well it all became clear when she decieded to move away. I was talking to

her one day and she told me she need to tell me something abut she was afriad that

I would get upset. She said she wanted me to her it from her and not someone else. I

told her she could tell me. She told me that she had a crush on me that she was bi-sexaul.

I just told her that I was not like that but it would not stop me from being her friend.

People at work had apparent knew way before me and could not see how I could still be

friends with her. But in my eyes she was the same person I got to know. I still write to

her when I get a chance. That is the first time I knew meet someone who had a difference

in sex perfernces.

Later when I moved to the Tri-State area I meet more people like that.

I started to work at a Shoney's and my to Asst. Mangers was both bi-sexaul. Later one

of there girlfriends began to work there also. This did not bother me because I had

learned from my earlier expereince that You can not judge a book by its cover I began to

be able to look at some people and see that they was like that which later I learn the words

to discribe them. Which comes to my job at Cedar Point.

One of my friends up here, that was my roommate at the time, convenced me that

I wanted to go work at Cedar Point last summer. Well if you don't know what Cedar

Point is I will tell you. It is an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. What alot of people

do not realize is that about eighty percent of the employees is gay. Some how they know

that is a place to go and maybe find summer love. My friend did tell me about this. I told

her that it was ok and lets go. I have always wanted to work at an amusement park. Well

while I was working there I got to meet a lot of diffenet people. I think that out of all the

guys that I knew think that only about three or four of them was straight. I would hang

out with these guys help them with their love problems. Some of the was even cross

dressers and clothes when they go out. I have even gone to the gay bars them. Hey

at least in those places I didn't have to worry about guys bothering and trying to pick me

up. But you did have to worry about girls trying to hit on you. I got to really see there

side of the world. I even had one friend teach there words and meaning so that under-

stand what they was saying. He said that a trick was a one night stand, fag was a slut,

gay was someone who you could not not hardly tell was gay, and that a flamer was a

feminin gay guy. So now can actully point out the gay guys a little better but there are still

throw me for a loop. Now I am working at a truck stop and the maintance guy is gay but

he doesn't want people to know. He has never came out and told me but I know and I

thinks he knows know. Also people I work with have told me that he is but it don't

bother me. Well that he how I became awear of it and what I think of it now.

sex. My father always believe in telling us about the things going on in the world. But I

always figure I would never get to see it myself. Well, when I was sixteen I got a job at a

little resturant called the House of Pizza. It was a mom and pop sort of place where

you got to know everybody you worked with. There was this cook that I always talked

to, her name was Jennifer, that I thought I knew pretty well. She dressed alittle boyish

and had a boyish hair cut but I thought nothing of it because I used to have short hair

and my being a tomboy I wear boyish clothes at time. So I have never gave it any

thought that she could be gay. She even had a boyfriend. My friend would always pick

at me and tell me that she liked me. There was this one time that she went to an

amusment park and brought me back some stuff. One of the things was a lttle glass

dragon because she knew that I loved dragons. Then she raised her shirt sleeve

and said that I got my and she got hers, which was a dragon tatoo. I just thought it

look cool. Well it all became clear when she decieded to move away. I was talking to

her one day and she told me she need to tell me something abut she was afriad that

I would get upset. She said she wanted me to her it from her and not someone else. I

told her she could tell me. She told me that she had a crush on me that she was bi-sexaul.

I just told her that I was not like that but it would not stop me from being her friend.

People at work had apparent knew way before me and could not see how I could still be

friends with her. But in my eyes she was the same person I got to know. I still write to

her when I get a chance. That is the first time I knew meet someone who had a difference

in sex perfernces.

Later when I moved to the Tri-State area I meet more people like that.

I started to work at a Shoney's and my to Asst. Mangers was both bi-sexaul. Later one

of there girlfriends began to work there also. This did not bother me because I had

learned from my earlier expereince that You can not judge a book by its cover I began to

be able to look at some people and see that they was like that which later I learn the words

to discribe them. Which comes to my job at Cedar Point.

One of my friends up here, that was my roommate at the time, convenced me that

I wanted to go work at Cedar Point last summer. Well if you don't know what Cedar

Point is I will tell you. It is an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. What alot of people

do not realize is that about eighty percent of the employees is gay. Some how they know

that is a place to go and maybe find summer love. My friend did tell me about this. I told

her that it was ok and lets go. I have always wanted to work at an amusement park. Well

while I was working there I got to meet a lot of diffenet people. I think that out of all the

guys that I knew think that only about three or four of them was straight. I would hang

out with these guys help them with their love problems. Some of the was even cross

dressers and clothes when they go out. I have even gone to the gay bars them. Hey

at least in those places I didn't have to worry about guys bothering and trying to pick me

up. But you did have to worry about girls trying to hit on you. I got to really see there

side of the world. I even had one friend teach there words and meaning so that under-

stand what they was saying. He said that a trick was a one night stand, fag was a slut,

gay was someone who you could not not hardly tell was gay, and that a flamer was a

feminin gay guy. So now can actully point out the gay guys a little better but there are still

throw me for a loop. Now I am working at a truck stop and the maintance guy is gay but

he doesn't want people to know. He has never came out and told me but I know and I

thinks he knows know. Also people I work with have told me that he is but it don't

bother me. Well that he how I became awear of it and what I think of it now.