#who said you need to be opressed to join the queer community?

[starberry-fag]

something something... the ideology that one *must* be opressed to be part of a marginalized community is something t//rfs, transandrophobes, and aphobes all share.... something something

[almond-assistant]

A very long rant and my opinions on neofeminism

Keep in mind that these are very opinionated, and I really don’t wanna fight with you. I’m only posting this so people know where I stand with this stuff, and so they know what kind of person I am.

Inequality: (the fake scenario here is metaphorical and also taken from a youtube video) Imagine there was a short person and a tall person, and there's a wall. In order to see over it, both people are given a stool of equal height to stand on. The tall person is still taller, and can see farther. Instead of giving the taller person a shorter stool, or a short person a taller stool, how about we give nobody a stool. Instead, give them equal materials to build their stool. Equal opportunity does not mean an equal outcome.

Wage Gap: That thing? It's non-existent; women are actually 'out-earning' men, according to literally every governmental source. And if the wage gap existed, it'd be illegal, considering women recieved equal rights in America in 1972.

Transphobia: Trans people are propped up and given all sorts of support in society! I remember at one point I considered myself transgender (I'm still queer-identifying fyi), and I was treated just as well, if not better, than most kids at my high school. And you know how you guys are so "supportive" of trans-men? Well, guess what. By not grouping him in with the cis men, you are therefore being transphobic by invalidating his identity, implying he is not like the cis man, as he would like to be seen as. Do you call a trans guy a rapist, like a cis man? No. Do you consider him sexist, like the cis man? Of course not! Even if he is, you wouldn't DARE accuse him of that! Right? Because he's an owo smol trans flower boy. By rubbing it in everybody's faces that you/someone you know is trans, you are therefore negating the fact that they'd like to be treated like a cisgendered person in the first place. Same goes for trans-women. FYI, I completely support real trans people!

Transtrenders: Super transphobic! If you want to be babied and called uwu smol then go join the adult baby community. You want to be queer? Just don't label yourself trans! Want attention? Go join a fucking talent show or something idk. Don't have dysphoria? What's the point in calling yourself the opposite gender? I don't get that. Wanna be a futa catgirl? I... I don't even know. Please stop that. Sexualizing trans/intersex people is transphobic. Trying to fit in? I get that. I did that. But please, please. don't rub it in everyone's faces. I actually DO have a bit of social dysphoria, but I used to make it a bigger deal than it should've been.

Patriarchy: I agree that patriarchy doesn't work. But, patriarchy is also basically gone, so I don't agree that it's this really big deal you guys make it out to be. On the other hand, matriarchy doesn't work well either. It takes both genders for lots of things to run smoothly. There are highly positioned women and men. That's what makes systems work, including reproduction and all that jazz. So basically, men are in fact needed. Stop treating them like shit. If you got rid of men, we'd go extinct. I know there's this thing with women's bone marrow or whatever, but that's not really relevant, and it isn't even guaranteed to work. By separating women from men, you are therefore being sexist, because equality doesn't have anything to do with gender. It's like if x=y, then y=x, y=y, and x=x. If x and y was female and male, or literally any gender, this would be the goal of feminism by definition. Without the belief that women are currently in a lesser position in society, neo-feminism falls flat. Speaking of which, you always focus on women, why aren't you including all of the other "genders"? Isn't that a bit sexist of you? Society is giving women everything they don't deserve. That's not equality. And yet you still think women are opressed.

Rape Culture: And before you rush to the comments with "You don't know what it's like to be sexually harassed!", I do, and that's why this topic ticks me off so much. Anyway, by labeling all men as rapists, you are therefore being sexist. And, even though you guys say men/boys can't be raped, they have been, and can be. Males are actually sexually exploited more than women. Furthermore, women can be rapists. Consent doesn't apply to just the woman. If a woman wants to have sex with a guy and he says no, yet she forces him to, it's still rape. Legal sexual interactions require both parties involved to give consent. I read a post on here that said something to the effect of, "If you don't have sex with a fat woman, you're raping her". That... boggles my mind.

Ableism: I have mental illnesses too, so this also pisses me off. I mean, I get that some people are wheelchair-bound or don't have the same mental abilities as a neurotypical person. I think it's great that we're helping to accomodate these people! But when you call everything that could even possibly leave out someone other than the neurotypicals ableist, it's frustrating. Literally anything could be ableist or classist. Eating pizza? No, this is ableist because some people have diabetes and can't eat certain things. Running gear? Ableist. Some people have to use wheelchairs, either because they were born paralyzed in the legs, or because they're too obese to move. Brain exercises? No, get that out of here. That's offensive to people with autism or the like, because their brains don't work like that, and it implies they're not good enough. therapy? Kill it with fire. You're saying we neurodivergents are not ok? It's like you don't care about people that want to get better. There's such thing as a target audience, so now let's see.. Pizza? Oh! That's for people who want a quick, cheap, and easy meal! Running gear? That's meant to interst people who enjoy being fit and maintaining their cardiovascular health. Wheelchair-bound folks have specialized exercises for keeping their muscles healthy. Running would not be as effective of a way for them to do that. Brain exercises? For people who want to keep their brain sharp and improve certain areas where they might have weaknesses. Again, people such as my brother (who has medium-high functioning autism) can have special exercises provided to them. But when companies manufacture products that leave out the neurotypical person, nobody thinks twice. So much for equality.

Fatphobia: I do agree that this one exists, although I've never experienced it myself, since I myself have problems gaining weight and keeping it on. I'm actually guilty of fatphobia, but hear me out. I don't mind if you're overweight, as long as others don't have to make special accomodations at no cost to the one being accomodated. If you're 500+ pounds and/or you need a wheelchair and two seats on a plane, I'm calling you out. There's no way you could be that fat without doing it to yourself or having a disability. I don't mind these things if you do have a disability, I understand you couldn't control it then. But if you're just sitting in your bed all day stuffing your face with cheese curls, you have no right to whine about fatphobia, as you could've easily prevented it. Mental disorders such as depression or anxiety that may lower your motivation so low that you don't care, I also get, since I've been in that situation plenty of times. Regardless though, I will not say you are beautiful. This is my personal opinion, and I know others may find obesity attractive, or even erotic (which is in itself fatphobic), but I do not. There are people who don't actually find it pretty, but still say it is. Please stop that. Speak your mind, yo. It's kinda sad that others shape your views, and if you don't agree entirely with the flock, you're not one of them, yknow? That's like... a cult or something.

Classism: I'm soft on this one, since I've been in and out of financial stability throughout my childhood and it sorta fucked me up. But again, calling everything classist is just not right. Songs about fancy cars and diamonds are praising the lush life, not making lower classes feel bad. If anything, those songs help them work harder to achieve their own dreams and have their own great life. But again, it's all about the target audience.

Racism: Racism was originally based off of fear and confusion. Other races had never seen a different skin color than their people's, and thought they were a different breed or species. The reason europeans and americans viewed africans as animals, is because they didn't know what else they could be. African society wasn't as developed, and the African people exhibited very primitive behaviors, as opposed to the educated caucasian. After a while, the african people taken to other lands as slaves, started to dislike that life and form their own opinions and values. The white people learned that the Africans were just humans of a different color, and eventually softened up a bit. But they couldn't abandon their ways of life, so the slaves slaved on, and the rich got richer. These values passed through generations, and eventually someone said, "Stop, these are people too, let's set em' free.". Though, yes, some families still teach their children to be racist, they don't imprison them anymore. Schools do a very good job of describing the treacheries of racism and slavery so it doesn't happen again. Most of my friends (and my boyfriend who I love so so much) are of color, in one way or another. Shit, I'm like, an eighth native american. I do consider myself white though, I'm Norwegian and Irish, for the most part. But I'll still honor my roots. Anyway, even modern racism is still based on fear. Islamophobia stems from terrorism, Black violence comes from stories of gangs and police shootings, and lots of other xenophobia stems from stereotypes. I'm completely against racism, trust me. But when you separate white from black and call white people scum, and call people of color 'strong, independent', and discard white people, it's kinda confusing. Racism applies to race, and caucasian is a race. Get it together.

Cisphobia: That exists. Cisgenderism/Heterosexuality are still identities, whether you want them to be or not.

Sexualities: Cool, You like people (Or you don't, if you're ace/aro). I know these sexualities were shunned before but most people are really accepting now! Just not the weird demonsexual things. Some people don't understand that too much. I sure don't.

Genders: Same as sexualities, don't get too crazy and people are cool w/ it.

Mogai and Neopronouns: Shit, get them out of here. You're making actual LGBT+ people look like a joke.

Anything I didn't mention that you'd like to hear my opinion on? Leave an ask! All interaction is welcome, though not all is wanted. Regardless, I'll try to be kind to you. I really have no reason to be rude to you if I don't know too much about you.

-Kevyn (almondassistant)

[magicmoon65]

I think what a lot of non-LGBT+ (note: I'm including ace/aros as LGBT) people miss about the LGBT experience is the culture attached to it. It’s not just today– in the 1800s and 1900s when you couldn’t be as open as we are now, being LGBT is a whole culture. I’m going to talk annoy this from a writer’s perspective, but this doesn’t only apply to writers. And I’m using examples from a sapphic perspective, because that’s what I know. If anyone else has any ideas about the culture, feel free to say something. So, I’ve seen posts talking about how LGBT band together. That’s a huge part of it. If you’re LGBT you know others who are LGBT. It might not seem that way online, but an LGBT group is often the most inclusive and accepting group ever. When I joined my school’s SAGA, everyone treated me like a friend immediately. When you’re taking to your LGBT friends, you’ll probably do things that if you were with an Ally they’d correct you on it– ex. Using “gay” to describe inanimate objects or even as far as doing that “my gender is a cabbage” type stuff. Mental illness are a BIG thing. Too many have depression or anxiety disorders, so we are not the type of people who would EVER say “triggered” (exception: ironically. We make fun of cishets a lot, sorry, and a lot of things are said ironically. Even then using triggered incorrectly is rare) also everyone is super supportive of mental illness in general. It’s sad that there was no surprise about someone being in the hospital for a week. Intense conversation. A lot of conversation can be said in jokes and in fun, but I also had a in-depth conversation with a guy that I’m not used to having with my close friends, and it felt completely natural. There’s a lot of trust within LGBT communities. Puns. Jeezus evertone who’s LGBT love puns. There’s jokes about coming out, bi jokes, just gay jokes in general ( that are actually inclusive gay jokes if you know what I mean) and even non-LGBT related puns and jokes. Tumblr. Most people I know who are LGBT are on Tumblr. I didn’t meet them on here but they are on here. (Tumblr itself has a huge LGBT culture, but sometimes with the discourse and all– I’m trying to explain the loving culture I know and Tumblr can be so SJW that it might give people the wrong impression.) Among Sapphics the violet is a huge thing. A symbol of sapphism and romance of previous centuries. The moon. The moon watches over sapphics. She protects us (I’ve also heard people say she’s nb so she watches over all the nbs, and the sun is her trans girlfriend) Every culture needs a history. LGBT love finding the gay of history, but we have a history ourselves. Nightclubs and bars, shootings and attacks, opression. Trans (women especially) have always been at the heart of that. Pride parades. Crossdressing is a big thing. Drag Queens are a big thing. Let me tell you, it is an amazing feeling to be in a room and know everyone else is queer. You can feel it, rejoice in it. It’s a semi-crazy world. And if you are LGBT it’s not as weird as it may seem to cishets. It’s an immediate feeling of acceptence. One more thing. Idk of you’ve seen The Fosters, but there’s one thing that bothered me. In s3 they have a queer dance, the most of the actual community we’ve seen. Jude has a boyfriend but he doesn’t like labels so he doesn’t say he’s gay yet, and they go to the dance and the people who greet them say how they’re queer, and they’re like Well, Jude, what are you? And when he doesn’t say, later someone tells Connor that might mean he’s just experimenting. Now I’m going to tell you why that wouldn’t happen. Or why if it did Connor shouldn’t have listened to that a-hole bevause that’s not in the spirit of being LGBT especially when Jude and Connor are both young. As a community we understand coming out. Not everyone immediately feels comfortable, and coming out is really freaking hard, especially to strangers. There is no reason they had any right to know what Jude identified as. There are tons of male-attracted identies, he might not know yet. Not saying you’re label doesn’t mean you’re experimenting, it means you’re not sure yet. Jude’s identity is for himself, he doesn’t have to use it. They could have gotten that drama without forcing someone to come out or use a lebel they’re not comfortable with. Okay, enough Fosters ranting. I think I’ve explained the LGBT culture. Please add anything about it, please reshare I want our allies to see this and understand our culture. And especially someone writing about it or talking about it– it’s important to understand it’s more than who you like or what gender you are, it is a culture, and a beautiful one.