I sympathise with you my friend. Society is full of such intolerance, from religion right down to the clothes you wear and the food you eat. It seems the majority of people are insecure when faced with anything that's different from what they know and expect. It's caused most of the wars in history and seems set to continue.
I guess when faced with intolerance there are three choices:
1. Fight it and try persuade your opponents of (at least) your right to your preference. I find this is usually a complete waste of energy. People who start with closed minds seldom open them.
2. Submit to peer pressure and either abandon your preferences or subvert them underground. I think many of us on this forum are forced to do this to a greater or lesser degree, depending on personal circumstances.
3. Simply ignore your critics and go do what pleases you. Obviously this is the ideal route - and it seems the one that you've been forced into - but one has to be in a very strong economic and social position to do this and it takes a lot of balls; it's a bit of a luxury for most of us, but it's the most liberating choice when you can do it.
Best wishes and keep it up (figuratively and literally)!
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