active people need to be aware of AIDS as well as other sexually transmitted diseases. Being gay does not give you AIDS, but certain sexual practices and certain drug use behaviors can put you at risk for catching the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS is incurable.
             "I think what helps me the most is being able to accept who I am as a person first. Knowing what my goals, my hopes, my feelings are about life are. The most beautiful benefit is being able to then accept my orientation." P.J. Smith (Personal communication, November 23, 1999).
             It's not easy to discover that you are gay. Our society makes it very clear what it thinks of gay people. We all hear the terrible jokes, the hurtful stereotypes and the wrong ideas that circulate about gay people. People tend to hate or fear what they don't understand. Some people hate lesbians and gay men. Many people are uncomfortable being around lesbian
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