So I will be participating in WYD in Madrid next August! I will have some friends there who I know for support but I dont know how I should approach any possible awkward questions. My priest who will be there has previously said he would like it if I was more open, and be some what of a voice for other lgbt members of the Church... I have also applied to do volunteering next year and it would be in South America. It would involve living with a family and I dont know if my being gay would pose a problem. Any one done volunteering and can offer a few tips?
I've done plenty of volunteering, but it didn't involve me going 10,000 miles away and living with a different family. What exactly would you be volunteering to do? Lex
I would be working in a school either teaching english or helping the teacher or in the community with kids. or a mix. It is more the fact I would living with a host family for 5 months, it is prob what i worried most about. There is always the chance I dont get that placement and it could be somewhere like Ghana where I have herad they have a sign at the airport that if you are gay do not enter lol
If you're assigned to a country that has very heavy anti-gay rhetoric, you simply tell the group who set it up "As a homosexual, I don't think it's a good idea for me to spend time in this country." Lex
I've never volunteered, but I'm South American, so I'll see if I can help. What I'm going to say is about Brazil, but it's probably very similar in some other countries, especially Chile and Argentina. Reception to gay people around here largely depends on where you are. As a rule of thumb, people in larger cities tend to be more tolerant than people in small towns. If you'll be staying with a family in Rio, São Paulo or Buenos Aires, there's a good chance they will be okay with hosting a gay person, especially considering that people who apply for hosting foreigners are usually pretty cosmopolitan and open-minded. If you are in a smaller place, people tend to be more conservative. Legally speaking, however, homophobia is a crime, so you don't have to worry about being met at the airport by an unfriendly sign
but as most of the placements are in developing countries its hard to a imagine many will be pro gay but maybe just not anti gay, altho to be fair south america has a great record with gay rights. I just dont want my sexuality to hinder something that could possibly provide help to those in need. At the same time I sometimes feel rubbish about being gay and I prefer not to hide it but in this instance I am not sure if it would be a hindrance to the work being conducted and I feel that is more important than my anxiety, you know?
i feel like you should first see if being gay is going to be a problem where you are. some countries are not accepting and you dont want to be in a bad situation....especially from what i have heard about some parts of africa becuase i saw a documentary on the whole gay-bashing there. secondly if you feel you will be in a major metropolitan area and you feel comfortable letting people know you are gay, you may want to takl to your counselor or trip organizer in confidence about this and let know your situation adn your concern and see if they can ask if the family would have a problem wiht a gay live-in. if so, then you dont want to live there for 5 months. that would make everything easy because you know what you're walking into. finally you can always choose to hide it and if they ask you if you have a gfriend just say no. but if you htink you are going to try adn explore "gay stuff" in your new country, just be careful and separate that from your work.
