You do not need friends to attend seminars no. In first world civilized countries most people snicker behind your back and behind closed doors but they will not actively do anything to break the peace.
Normies will ostracize you for everything that does not fall within extremely rigid highly defined bounds of acceptable, it does not matter if you are nice or not, once you have become the subject of jokes it’s all it’ll ever be. I’ve been on both sides of this equation.
I am neurodivergent and LGBT and I have learned the hard way there is no fitting in with normal people and even if you did - there is no trusting them, it’s best to not concern yourself with them and simply carry on with your work. If you feel like you must have social connections it’s best to find people who are similar.