Any Other Gay & Lesbian Kivans out there?

[Guest]

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[RichardF]

There's a certain worldview gay and lesbian folks share

Hi Scott, what would that worldview be?

[QueenOfHearts]

And thank you Steff for asking that question....as I was wondering myself...what does it really matter?
One thing for sure here at Kiva Friends, there is a widely diverse group of lenders from young to old, from different parts of the world, from different economic backgrounds, from gay to straight to in between, from black to white to yellow to green...and so on and so on.  As far as the borrowers go, I am not sure who would be offended by your photo Scott but since we have had trouble with folks posting animal pictures in lieu of personal photos...the answer would probably be "someone".  That shouldnt stop you from doing what in your heart of hearts you know is the right thing.  Heck, it hasnt stopped any of US!!
And I too enjoyed chatting with you the other night and look forward to doing more of the same in the future...WELCOME!
Queen

[Peter S]

....
It's also partly born of curiosity - you look at all those other lenders' pics, and you wonder - are any of them like me?
....
--Scott

Scott -

I think 100% of the other lenders are like you in the sense that they're people of goodwill who see Kiva as a brilliant opportunity to let some of their relative wealth give a hand-up to less fortunately placed people in the developing world.

Money doesn't in itself have any nationality, or race, or creed, or indeed sexuality - especially these days when it can be whizzed round the globe as electrons with a mouse-click.

So, I'm not so sure there is a gay/lesbian angle to lending on Kiva, just humans helping humans, but like the others who've posted, I of course wish you luck in finding someone who shares your perspective.

As Queen has just written while I was writing this, absolutely don't be concerned that your photo will offend someone.   You and Mark are putting yourselves out there and being honest about something that's obviously important to you to be upfront about, and if someone doesn't like it, that's their problem.  There is far too much sensitivity these days, in my view, you can hardly say anything without offending some particular cultural or racial or religious interest.   Apart from being offended by war and poverty and the criminal stupidity of many political leaders, I'm only really offended by people who are easily offended.

By the way, not gay myself, but I probably don't need to say, decidedly gay-friendly.

~~ Peter

[Steff]

I second what Peter said.

[ScottandMark]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the great replies.  Who knows if we'll find other glbt folks, but it's great chatting with you guys too... plenty of other worldviews out there to keep it all from getting boring.  And I love the comment about the 100% of folks being here to doo good things... we wholeheartedly agree.

As far as the picture thing, we'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it.  I would love to support glbt entreprenuers too, tho, altough there's no way to identify who they are.  But hey, as long as whoever we support is worthy... works hard and pays back the loan on time.

--Scott

[RichardF]

Scott, you should check out your gaydar on the LGBT activists who Support Kiva at Change.org.

[akevin]

Hi all,

I'd agree with the sentiment that we all are here because we're interested in microlending, and that one will not find a particular gay/lesbian way of lending.

That being said, though, I would bring up the point that in some of the countries where kiva loans, the persecution of gays and lesbians can be fairly serious. For those of us that are gay and think about the locations when we're lending, whatever the response each of us may have, there is this additional personalizing element. While I can't really know anything about a particular individual I'm lending to, I also can't help to wonder if someone, say in Afghanistan, would support a person like me being hung or if I'd indirectly be helping to generate economy/power for a government that does. At the same time, I recognize that Kiva is promoting cultural exchange and that a hope behind microlending is to empower everyday people, development/new ideas, change...

So I'm probably getting into a whole different discussion here - am just suggesting how identity can weigh in.  It is not just unique to the gay community either, women may feel connected in ways to women in other countries where there may be abuse or oppression. Others may relate on the basis of religion or ethnicity.

In terms of my own actual lending, overall I’m mostly just enthused by kiva's concept and am drawn toward different things - I really like parents that seem invested in their kids and community, for example (http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=19196).

I think this identity aspect is interesting and relevant though. Whether gay/lesbian or something else, would wonder to what extent you may imagine about counterparts of yourself in some of these countries and how this may affect you while lending.

Kevin

[RichardF]

Hi Kevin,

Great points! 

From the personal perspective, sometimes I deliberately avoid businesses, e.g., those that kill animals, and sometimes I seek out things to stretch my own experiences, e.g., connections to countries I've never visited.

I believe everyone can relate to feeling belittled by others because of some personal attribute - we all have that in common.  Taking that intolerance to life-threatening levels is something else entirely, of course.

The magic of Kiva is we have so many choices of how we can relate to and connect with others around the world - borrowers and lenders. 

[cpbailey]

I would think that some gay people would want to help in regions where AIDS is an issue.  For example, in Africa a poor, single woman may find it difficult to support her family.  She may feel her only option is prostitution which is a common way AIDS is spread.  However, Kiva gives other viable options.  So I guess it is a connection of suffering within the communities not sexual preference.

Colette

[Dottie b]

In some African countries, there's a belief that AIDS can be cured by having intercourse with a virgin. Thus many very young children are infected.