Honest Question

[Anonymous]

Hello folks. I am a straight man who identifies as such. I support all of you and wish you nothing but the best. I will always vote for candidates who condone your rights, BUT ( you knew there was a but right?) I wonder why you all get lumped in together. It seems to me that being trans and being gay are kind of separate issues with one being more an issue with the body a person is born with and the other being whom one is attracted to.
Also, would it be considered a betrayal if a gay person were to disagree with a trans issue like the Lia Thomas issue?
I am not trying to start an issue and I mean no offense. I am just curious.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps you're a troll, BUT.. I'll try to answer honestly.

Of course each group is different. Some letters related to gender preference, others to sexual preference, and plenty of queer folk can also be gay, btw. The one thing that all the letters have in common is the sense of being 'othered' and for most of history, vilified, ignored and/or feared within straight cis-gendered society.

If each subgroup had to fight the fight for equality and recognition on their own, they would each be so tiny. By banding together to promote equal rights for all, they have a louder platform.

It's not so different from how Asian minorities may not have a ton in common with Black & Hispanics, but as an awkwardly-lumped minority catchall group, it raises the sound of all of our collective voices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps you're a troll, BUT.. I'll try to answer honestly.

Of course each group is different. Some letters related to gender preference, others to sexual preference, and plenty of queer folk can also be gay, btw. The one thing that all the letters have in common is the sense of being 'othered' and for most of history, vilified, ignored and/or feared within straight cis-gendered society.

If each subgroup had to fight the fight for equality and recognition on their own, they would each be so tiny. By banding together to promote equal rights for all, they have a louder platform.

It's not so different from how Asian minorities may not have a ton in common with Black & Hispanics, but as an awkwardly-lumped minority catchall group, it raises the sound of all of our collective voices.

Thank you! That does help ( I am OP). I appreciate the response and I wasn't trolling you

[Anonymous]

I am a gay woman and yes I believe trans issues to be quite different than issues such as gay marriage. I also do not feel free to openly discuss in the broader community how I feel about the Lia Thomas issue, but as the mom of a competitive swimmer daughter you bet I do have some opinions about it.

That said, I think the reason why we are together is that at the end of the day, anti-gay and anti-trans sentiments are all rooted in sexism and what it means to be a “correct” man or woman. And the more people we have fighting sexism together, the better.