At every turn we hear how things are so much better for the LGBT community. People say that they feel safer, and we hear that many students seem to think that all is well. We also know that there are civil rights and legal protections laws being enacted in various cities and states across the country, and polls seem to support an overall improvement in acceptance of lesbian and gay folks and their families.

While we certainly don't want to discourage anyone, we always keep in mind that students and others of us are currently safe within the walls of an accepting university and academic community, and other employment venues are not so accommodating. And there are still more states without protections and partnership sanctions than there are with them.

Hence, being the skeptics that we are, we wonder if all is as good as it seems on the surface.

We've read some survey results about workplace environment that indicate encouraging trends.

For instance, LGBT employees are reportedly more comfortable displaying pictures of their partners in their work environment, indicating perhaps a lessening of workplace homophobia. However, when ambience and everyday personal interaction is factored in, we find that there is still a good deal of racist, homophobic and sexist humor present in the guise of those, "Oh, I'm just kidding," jokes.

It's not surprising that the most targeted groups in jokes are women and members of the LGBT community. But what we find to be most upsetting is that this trend in workplace "humor" is increasing rather than decreasing.

And we can't help but think that since lesbians will always represent at least two of the common targeted groups (others are Muslim, Jewish, the disabled, Asian American, Hispanic American, African American, Native American, people over 65), that their level of discomfort in their work environment is greater than that of gay men who tend to identify as men first. While gay men may still suffer from derogatory comments, they tend to believe that their gender protects them from discriminatory behavior.

We are aware that heterosexuals are represented in many of these other groups, but since they belong to the dominant and traditionally accepted sexual orientation, the discrimination is more unilateral. And while that doesn't make it any more palatable or acceptable, our focus here is specifically on the LGBT community.

Okay, the workplace may be improving in those areas or companies where the leadership promotes acceptance and discourages discrimination, but we are pretty sure that these employers are not representative of all work environments. In fact, we wonder if they are even the majority given all of the smaller businesses and mom-and-pop shops. Maybe in the academic and corporate arena but surely not in the small-business sector.

Oh well, moving on, we know that life cannot be totally about work, so what about in the social arena? We notice that LGBT bars and social clubs are closing at a rapid pace, leaving little or no venue for socializing or partying.

Some have said that these places are no longer needed since things are so much better and we can just go to regular bars, clubs and restaurants. Of course we can, and to some extent we always could. But are we always safe and comfortable? Are we always welcome?

Maybe we are just getting old and mistake the smirks, dirty looks and snide comments for discrimination when it's really all just meant to be good fun. Surely the younger generations don't take such actions in stride and actually enjoy being menaced or serving as the butt of another's poor taste in humor?

Youthful idealism aside we still think there is plenty of homophobic hatred out there, and we worry about those who just don't see it or want to pretend that it no longer exists. We recall how overt racism had a tendency to go underground following the enactment of civil rights laws, and we see a similar trend with homophobia.

In other words, mean-spirited humor, nasty comments and rude behavior became more subtle, but the feelings and beliefs still existed. They sort of lay dormant, just waiting for the opportunity to spring to life again. Legislation can open doors, but attitudes and beliefs do not acquiesce so easily to law.

Okay. Workplace better. Bars and clubs "integrated," as it were. What about bookstores?

A few years ago the LGBT bookstore was a thriving business, with several located in various metropolitan areas. Even towns the size of Bloomington had one or two. Many are gone now, and some say it is because of online purchases and corporate competition, and others believe that LGBT literature is readily available in libraries and other bookstores.

Check it out. Not so. Sure, a good Web search will find many resources and books, but what has happened to that need to have a place of our own? Whether it's reading a good book, enjoying a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and a few tunes at a local establishment, there is nothing like that accepted feeling of being among friends and being at home.

We guess the real question is are we gradually letting the larger, straight community absorb us and our identity through a false sense of acceptance? Or are we selling ourselves a bill of goods by bending to the corporate definitions of who we are and what we should be?

We must not confuse acceptance with the elimination of our very being and what we bring to our culture. It would be very sad indeed if we lost ourselves in the process of becoming fully enfranchised citizens, and with the confusion that comes from being loved as sinners but not for our sin, we could easily not recognize our enemies.

Helen Harrell and Carol Fischer can be reached at hharrell@indiana.edu and cafische@indiana.edu.