A GMB Glossary, Vol. 2

Since the last post had a bit to do with gay lingo, I thought this topic deserved a revisiting before the last two installments of Adventures in Internet Dating. Also, some of you recently posed questions regarding some of these terms.

Today’s post is directed more toward those unfamiliar with terms frequently used by gay and lesbian Mormons. Some of these terms are also used by men and women of other faiths.

Terms

SSA stands for Same Sex Attraction (also referred to as SGA-- Same Gender Attraction).

Within this culture it is often used to distinguish between those who act on homosexual feelings and those who do not. Those pursuing relationships with people of the same sex are more often referred to as gay or lesbian (in my experience) and more frequently refer to themselves this way.

GMB stands for Gay Mormon Boy

I started referring to myself under this term because I felt it embodied three very important, conflictive elements of my identity. 1) Homosexuality, 2) My upbringing in the LDS faith, and 3) My own coming of age—the turn from boy to man.

MoHo stands for Mormon Homosexual. Taken from a central directory for “MoHo” blogs, http://mohodirectory.blogspot.com/, the following are presented as acceptable definitions:

1. A Mormon Homosexual
2. A Gay Mormon
3. A person of homosexual orientation who has some affiliation (either as a current member or a former member) with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Organizations

Bloggernacle is a Mormonized version of the word blogosphere. Used in the same contexts.

Evergreen International is an organization dedicated to the treating homosexual tendencies of members of the LDS Church. From their website:

“Evergreen is a nonprofit organization that helps people who want to diminish same-sex attractions and overcome homosexual behavior. It is also a resource to their loved ones, professional counselors, religious leaders, and friends.”

North Star is an organization providing support resources to members of the LDS Church who experience same-sex attraction. From their website:

“North Star is a place of community for Latter-day Saints dealing with issues surrounding homosexual attraction who desire to live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

(Interestingly, Northstar is also the name of Marvel’s first openly gay super hero. I’m not sure if there was a connection here).

Affirmation is a LGBT support group for current and former members of the LDS Church. From their website:

“Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons serves the needs of gay Mormon women and men, as well as bisexual and transgender LDS and their supportive family and friends, through social and educational activities.”

Laws/Doctrines

I’ll close with some definitions from a now-defunct blog called Soy Made Me Gay (with the exception of Word of Wisdom). These definitions are a gay Mormon’s take on certain aspects of church doctrines.

LAW OF CHASTITY

Church rule that prohibits all “below the belt”-type activities between people that aren’t married to each other (same-sex marriages don’t count). You can’t marry yourself, so guess what else is out. Yep. That, too. And don’t even think about porn. Really.

LAW OF TITHING

Ten percent of your income goes (in little gray envelopes) to the Church.

WORD OF WISDOM

A doctrine of the Church which prohibits the consumption of coffee, alcohol, tobacco, certain types of tea, and illegal drugs.

TEMPLE RECOMMEND

A card that shows that the carrier has been interviewed by the Stake President and has been found to meet the minimum requirements of worthiness (Law of Chastity, Law of Tithing, Word of Wisdom, etc.) to enter the temple.

I hope this clears up some things about the issues gay and lesbian Mormons face and some of the vocabulary we use.