I agree with you about a touch meaning so much. While I was incarcerated we would get in trouble for touching, even on a visit with a family member. It got to the point where I was (am) paranoid about touching. So not only does it set bells off when I am touched, now I have to tell myself it is okay to touch others.

If the gay pride comment was in reference to Mach5's post, please let me back up Mach5s post with a clarification.  The post comment was on behalf of the homosapien experience.  We are our own species. We are not mammals, like dolphins.  The evolution of mammals and homosapiens and birds go back and are tied together. That is where we get our blood types from, O+, O-, A+, A-, AB+, AB-.  I am going to discuss 3 topics:  1. The sex of the human, in medical terms.  2.  Sexual identity/gender.  3.  Sexual orientation/preference, not at all related to the actual sex of the homosapien.  1.  Homosapiens come with a range of sexual physical statuses.  They all have either XY DNA which makes up every cell of their body or XX chromosomes in their DNA which is in every cell of their body.  The DNA expresses itself in every cell of the body.  It is the blueprint for the structure.  Female...to ambiguous..to male.  That is called the sex of the human, in medical terms.  Some homosapiens are born with ambiguous genitalia, making them neither male or female.  These persons tend to be very happy with their parts and are glad that surgeons did not try to repair them at birth. Humans either have 2 X chromosomes, or an X and a Y chromosome.  DNA containing XX makes a baby girl.  DNA consisting of XY in every cell of the human makes a baby boy.  For the most part.  Just because one has 2 X chromosomes and is a female, doesn't mean she has a uterus and can have babies, there is a spectrum of what parts we are born with and how the parts work as well.  A transgendered female, who lives life as a male with a penis, may have a uterus and become pregnant and carry a fetus to full term and give birth while living in a household as a father and husband married to a wife and raising children, as their father.  See the state of Utah.  I knew a person, a beautiful young student of mine, who was born XY.  The testes did not descend.  They are tucked way up in her.  Her genitalia appear like a female with a large clitoris..  She has no vagina or uterus.  She was born with testes.  They were tucked way up in her and were not removed, thankfully.  She was raised as a normal girl, is bright, goes to college, and has a boyfriend.  She just can't have babies, and her man is okay with that.  2.  Sexual identity, which includes gender encompasses how an individual chooses to identify and express themselves, male or female, or somewhere in between.  Regardless of their old parts or their new parts, or how the parts do or do not work.  (Sex of human:  XX or XY with variances of genetic expression physically:  Sometimes doctors mistakenly try to fix these babies at birth and mess the whole thing up, at times.  They were simply ignorant about how to best care for the baby long term.  I find that those who remain surgically unrepaired find a wonderful life with joy and pleasure, much pleasure.)    Gender is boy girl, man woman.  Some examples of sexual identity/gender are:  a.  Drag Queen is usually a XY, who likes to dress up like a girl, excuse me, woman, and put on tremendous shows.  See The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert, the best movie ever made.  b.  "butch lesbian" (Shawn on The L word--Ooo La La...)  c.  "flamer" (The guys in San Francisco that wear beautiful white polyester suits with yellow silk shirts and got an extra happy gene.  (Randy, you know who you are) c.  "diesel dyke" (lesbian who drives a truck for a living, has never worn a bra or underwear, and builds houses with her hands for fun)  d. gay man (often we don't know they're gay.  Flamers can do a pretty good job of acting simply gay to fit into the workplace)  e.  lesbian (same)  e. girly lesbian (Alice on the L Word)  f.  straight (President Barak Obama, Kit on The L Word), g.  feminine man straight (my life partner, a tenderhearted emotionally available man, sensitive, who takes his lunchbreak to come home and rub and hold his daughter's head while she is sick, who gives her baths, he loves me by loving our boys and girls, a man who has no predator fiber in his being), on and on, you get it.   3.  Sexual orientation/preference encompasses those with which the homosapien chooses to engage in intimate physical intimacy.  An intimate relation can be physical, emotional, or spiritual, like praying together.  The act of making love falls under passionate physical intimate activity and may simply consist of holding hands.  Passion has intensities, ranging from lightly passionate to very passionate, such as coitus, the insertion of the penis into the vagina.  The original form of the homosapien referred to this as "making love," which has nearly become an obsolete term and experience.  Humans have unlearned this.  An example of intellectual intimacy is having a cerebrally stimulating conversation with another human being.  An example of emotional intimacy is crying on your friend's shoulder and them listening to you process your painful emotional experience.  Back to #2.  A homosapien with XY DNA (male) can become a female with surgery and hormonal supplementation to complete the process, called transgender.  Or vice versa.  Sexual identity is:  straight, homosexual, or somewhere in between, referred to as bisexual.  It is on a continuum.  (For example,  My sex is female.  I have XX chromosomes in my DNA, making me a girl.  I have an enlarged clitoris and I love it.  I have functioning ovaries and a uterus and beautiful breasts with which I feed my offspring, which I made by having coitus with a man, my life partner.  By the way, men can breastfeed too.  That's another lecture.  My sexual identity is that I am bisexual, but I lean to the right about 60/40.  Meaning I have a stronger attraction to women.  Boy, oh boy, really strong at times.  I happen to have chosen a wonderful man to be my life partner, or shall i say, I fell head over heels in love with him.  So my sex is female, my sexual identity is bisexual, and my sexual orientation/preference is to be with a male partner.  WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I do not believe in marriage, I think it can take away someone's power at times.  It requires surrender by one of the partners at times during cooperation.  For some the benefits outweigh the payment.  Not I.  It originated with the purchase and sale of women by men.  It is simply a tax break.  It is an obsolete organizational structure now.  Oprah and I like to hear the terms "marriage", "wife", "husband", and fondly hear those terms.  My partner, or boyfriend, as Oprah referers to Stedman, is a wonderful life partner and father and we are going forth and multiplying and growing old together.  We cooperate beautifully.  Humans and geese tend to pair bond for life. Called monogamy.  Mach5's comment comes from a homosapien on earth and represents no one specific sex of human,  sexual identity/gender, or sexual orientation/sexual preference.  Core traumatic experiences to the homosapien may affect their end sexual preferences/orientation, regardless of their sex or sexual identity/gender.  Respectfully Submiitted, Mach5.

Codependence.  Alcoholism, an addiction.  Predator.  See Pia Mellody's webiste, my colleague who teaches about these terms.