Ok well, I'm going to ramble a lot and get into some history and stuff, but I feel like you need to really dig deep and examine these issues across the centuries to get an understanding as to why the modern world is set up the way it is. I'm also going on a lot of tangents  and philosophising here, so consider yourselves warned. 

As someone living in Bulgaria, ex-eastern bloc country, now part of the EU, I've always found this subject somewhat strange. Much like Buddha explained about Russia, the sentiment in the rest of Eastern Europe is pretty much the same - homosexuality is just something that's not talked about, but not actively prosecuted. Yes, people here have a reputation for being homophobic and it's warranted, but honestly it's nowhere near the sort of shit that goes down in the US. Or rather, it's just as worse, but in a different sort of way. One of the most common insults thrown around here is...*drumroll*..."faggot" or "pederast" to use the local language, which gets its roots from the Greek word pederasty. Pederasty itself implies sex between an adult male and a pubscent male, though the usage has shifted over the centuries. However, fathers beating their sons, chasing them out of their homes, shit like that? Incredibly uncommon. 

My country was under Ottoman rule for about 5 centuries, so while there's been a lot of cultural exchange, a lot of things perceived as stemming from the Ottomans are deeply hated. Prostitution of young boys is one such thing - in the average Ottoman whorehouse you were likely to find as many boys as girls. Note, I'm not saying women or men, these were usually teenagers, hence why I believe "pederasty" is the term that was adopted and not "homosexuality". I find it hilariously ironic that nowadays hardline Islamic countries are severely anti-homosexual, when in fact one of the greatest Islamic empires was not. In a warrior, male-dominated society such as the Ottoman Empire, it's not hard to imagine that masculinity was held in high regard. Strength, bravery, physical beauty, you know the drill....these things were to be admired, by liking these traits in young men, you affirmed your own adherence to these virtues. 

Ok, long story short - homosexuality was common in Ottoman society. Also take into account that rebellion among the non-Islamic subjects of the Empire, such as those on the Balkans, were [i]brutally[/i] put down. Despite what some revisionists may claim, if you do some research it's appalling - Game of Thrones has nothing on this shit. After the men were killed, rape followed, but it wasn't just confined to females - boys were often taken as well. Now, fast forward 500 years and you can see why these events have created a very skewed view of homosexuality in pretty much the entire Balkans. By the way, I'd wager much of the stigma in Russia is rooted in the same thing as well, only in their case it was the Mongols. 

Apart from all of that, you have Orthodox Christianity which is the emanation of the "The Patriarchy". Unlike Catholicism, for Orthodox priests it's not forbidden to marry. In fact, in the older days, priests usually couldn't be ordained if they weren't married in the first place. The pact between man and woman is both a religious and a social norm which has been passed on through the generations. And since religion was one of the main reasons Bulgaria and the other Balkan countries weren't assimilated by the Ottomans, you can see why it has this enormous, long-reaching effect. 

[quote=@Buddha]
Also, I just want to say something about Russia, for the American's. 
[/quote]

By the way, did you know that in Lenin's USSR homosexuality was legalised? (along with abortion and divorce) That was back in the 1920's! Afterwards, Stalin clamped down on them hard, but we know how that story goes so I won't get into it. 

Anyway, soviet times. My grandmother, who was born in 1930, spent the majority of her youth in rural areas that were REALLY backwards. She's told me stories of homosexuals who were well-known to the locals even back in those times. I mean, when you live in a small, secluded place with 2000 other people it's hard to keep secrets. These men had wives and families usually to keep up appearance, but engaged in relations with other men. And you know what? Nobody prosectued them. People just didn't touch upon the topic, like you wouldn't remark on someone's scar or birth mark. Not ideal, I know, but better than being stoned to death just because you don't like fucking the opposite sex, yes? 

In fact, there are a number of famous singers and actors (both male and female) from those times that were known to be homosexual, but again - no active prosecution. (that is not to say that there was NO prosecution, but it was political, not based on sexuality) Keep in mind that we're talking about the fucking Eastern Bloc for God's sake! The "evil empire" as Ronald Reagan so "eloquently" put it. Heck, even the most famous club in Bulgaria for electronic music - Yalta club - started out as a gay bar in the 1980's. And it's not tucked away in some corner either, it's smack in the middle of the city centre - 10 minutes away from the Presidency and the Parliament (and five minutes away from the biggest Orthodox church in town, lol).

And you know what really grinds my gears? When "the West" (sorry to use this politically-charged term, I feel it fits here) points their finger at us and says "Yep, those commies in Eastern Europe are all homophobes". 

Right, enough with the history lessons. My stance on the subject? Live and let live. I don't care what your sexual preference is, I care if you are a decent person. However, I feel like pride protests are not only useless, but actively harming the LGBT community. I'm not too familiar with how it goes down in the States, but in my corner of the world these rallies are used as nothing more than PR boosters for politicians. You'll hear them brag on how "progressive" and "accepting" they are, but then look at their lawmaking and it does absolutely nothing to benefit the LGBT community. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, you have would-be Hitlers rallying deluded teenage skinheads against them, but again - this is all politics. 

For all their slogans and promises, I don't see these protests changing anything. Every year it's the same - lots of talk in the media before the actual LGBT pride, promises of politicians to attend, threats by radicals. Then when it happens you have half the town's police there to guard the LGBT community from a pathetically small group of skinheads, usually football hooligans, and it all blows over. It annoys me that many LGBT people get caught up in this and essentially become marionettes for someone else. Like the fucking Sochi Olympics, remember that? You think all these politicians cared about "anti-gay laws" and the like in Russia? Of course not, it was just another round of the usual shit-slinging between the US and Russia, nothing more. I'll reiterate: while the idea behind these protests is admirable, they are "usurped" by politicians and used solely for their own gains, such as putting pressure on opponents and securing more votes for their next election. Sorry for being so cynical, but that's the truth of it, either way you look at it. 

Which brings me to my point - politics ain't gonna change shit. Thousands of protests and LGBT prides aren't going to change shit. Going into politics thinking you can do something isn't going to change shit. Even if we imagine a perfect world for a second, where progressive, open-minded people were in charge and wanted to really make things better for the LGBT community...it's not going to change shit. Why?

[b]Because homophobia isn't a political problem, it's a sociological one![/b]

I feel like a lot of people can't grasp this distinction. "Homophobe", "pro-homosexual", "anti-gay" get thrown around on a daily basis between politicians, but do you really think they care what those things mean? What they ACTUALLY mean? It's all smoke an mirrors, people. 

As long as homosexuality continues being a social stigma, nothing is ever going to change. You can't force people into liking something they don't, regardless of what the politicians want. Case in point - TTIP. Does the EU leadership want it? Yes. Does the US want it? Hell yes. Does the average European citizen want it? No. And that's why it's stalled and hasn't happened yet, people don't accept it. Not convinced? Look at the Middle-East, the US has tried time and time again to impose democracy on it, but that hasn't happened. The society there doesn't accept it. 

Just like people don't accept homosexuality on the whole. That's the problem, not the country or the lawmakers, it's the average Joe out in the streets. You have to peel layers and layers of prejudice and ignorance to reach out to people. That can't happen overnight and I doubt a single generation is enough.

Finally, we get to what I really wanted to talk about - ignorance. Ignorance is the root of most problems in modern society. Racism, xenophobia, homophobia, terrorism, sleazy politicians doing whatever the fuck they want. There's this huge disparity, a knowledge-gap that's widening every year. You have people who know four languages, have travelled over the world, experienced many cultures, etc. and then you have people who've can't read and have never left heir hometown, have been taught that foreigners are bad and that "queer" stuff are wrong. Friction between these two groups is inevitable, as evidenced by the refugee crisis in Europe currently.  

The only way to change people is through education. That's the only hope humanity has of transcending our petty struggles and going forward - wide-scale education for everybody, regardless of social status. Stamp out ignorance, raise the education level of the average adult and you'll see things vastly improving for everybody, not just the LGBT community. 

To finish off, I'll just say that literature is where this needs to start. I assume that as you are RP'ers, most of you know the value of reading. I can quite comfortably say that books have changed my life...more than once. That's why schools should seriously start teaching some modern literature and move away from these antiques they've shoved down our throats for decades. Kids need to read sci-fi, seriously. All these subjects have been discussed by various writers in detail over the years, starting as far back as the 1950's. (you know, back in the decade in which Alan Turing was sentenced to hormonal treatment for being gay...) 

Asimov writes about love between humans and robots. Ursuala Le Guin has an entire society composed of hermaphrodites. Lois McMaster Bujold has transgender ship captains and a nation that prides itself on complete sexual freedom. Heinlein has a story in which a guy does some weird time-travel shit and ends up fucking his own mother. OK, maybe that last example wasn't that good, but you get my idea - taboos and social prejudices need to be broken down. Children need to enter adulthood with a completely open mind, unmarred by stigmas. In my experience, literature is the best tool for that. 

Obviously, I'm slightly joking about sci-fi, fantasy is just as good in that regard, as are many other contemporary authors. The school system needs a massive overhaul. I can only speak for my own country, but the raunchiest novels kids have to read here are stuff like The Decameron and Bel Ami, which strictly feature heterosexual sexual relations. When young people grow up in an environment that doesn't accept homosexuality, doesn't discuss homosexuality an doesn't even let them read about homosexuality, how do you expect them NOT to be at least slightly homophobic when they come of age? 

My 2 (euro) cents.