Very interesting responses--thanks for the insight. Turns out pondering this can be very upsetting. To elaborate, it's kind of a two part question for me: first, to what degree is the general public aware, but second (and upon reflection this is what I was originally trying to ask), what's the general opinion? I started surfing the net last night for mentions in periodicals, forums, and in psychological literature, and was pretty upset after a few hours. Seems to me, unless somebody actually /is/ or /knows/ someone who is *B/DL, their opinion is most likely negative, and often based on incomplete or inaccurate information. This may be a misconception on my part, but whatever the case may be, I (like many of us, I'm sure) don't really feel like a functional, desirable adult.
It will be interesting to watch this unfold though. We've all seen encouraging stories of open minds and well balanced lives on sites like this or others; I have to expect that the next generation will benefit from communication like this, and from increased awareness in psychology and the public.
Lesson learned though--don't ask Google questions which probably have hurtful answers.
Just so tired of hiding...I'd like to have a girlfriend, to be able to tell her about this and have her truly accept it, without even asking her to participate. But, given the 'strangeness' or mystery surrounding this topic, it's hard to take much initiative.
On a related note, pretty sure I just saw a guy--looked like he was in his 50s--wearing 'protection' (never heard it called that until about a week ago). He was wearing tight pants, and the two vertical lines were just barely apparent. If this trend in human apparel is so wide-spread, does that make this the largest social taboo ever?
It would also be interesting to know how public awareness/knowledge level/opinions vary by nation or region.
