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Okay, first it was "bi/pan lesbians aren't valid."
Then it was "he/him lesbians aren't valid."
Then it was "nonbinary lesbians aren't a thing."
Now it's "femboy is a slur."
That's it, I'm pulling this clown car over to the side of the turnpike. We need to have a talk.
1/x
Then it was "he/him lesbians aren't valid."
Then it was "nonbinary lesbians aren't a thing."
Now it's "femboy is a slur."
That's it, I'm pulling this clown car over to the side of the turnpike. We need to have a talk.
1/x
Look, I get it. The real-time rise of fascism in the US is terrifying, and none of us are emotionally equipped to cope with that. The pandemic is scary, but it's also BORING, and we've all binge-watched everything three times since March.
But.
2/x
But.
2/x
Here's the thing I'm gonna need all of you queer, trans folks out there to take a deep breath, read, and attempt to internalise:
Walls won't save you. Borders won't save you. Gates and gatekeepers won't save you. Policing other people's identities DEFINITELY won't save you.
3/x
Walls won't save you. Borders won't save you. Gates and gatekeepers won't save you. Policing other people's identities DEFINITELY won't save you.
3/x
You want to know the only thing that will save you, that will save all of us?
Acceptance. Belonging. Compassion. Empathy. Inclusion. Understanding. Welcoming.
That's it. Everything else is self-deluding, self-destructive distractions from our own vulnerabilities.
4/x
Acceptance. Belonging. Compassion. Empathy. Inclusion. Understanding. Welcoming.
That's it. Everything else is self-deluding, self-destructive distractions from our own vulnerabilities.
4/x
Here's the thing, friendos: I'm a middle-aged bisexual nonbinary trans girl. I only fully realised the "girl" part at the beginning of this year; everything else, I've had literal years to process. It started with coming out to myself as bisexual as a teen in the 1980s.
5/x
5/x
I won't wax romantic about the queer community of the '80s, '90s, and '00s, because there was a lot of bad stuff we need to own... but there was a kind of solidarity between all the spokes of the queer umbrella, an understanding that we really were all in this together.
6/x
6/x
At the risk of sounding like an Old, grumbling and shaking my fist at Kids These Days, the miracle of the Internet has been a mixed blessing. It's made information and communication SO MUCH EASIER... but it's also made disinformation and miscommunication easier, too.
7/x
7/x
We're losing a lot of queer history and culture for reasons that other writers have covered fantastically well, so I'm not going to dwell on them here, but one thing I want to highlight is that, ever since we started reclaiming it, "queerness" has always been a big umbrella.
8/x
8/x
If you're here, you're queer. Gay, lesbian, bi, pan, ace, aro, trans, intersex, gender-non-conforming, and everything I've forgotten or overlooked... all of us.
The only thing we do by throwing up fences and gates is make ourselves smaller.
9/x
The only thing we do by throwing up fences and gates is make ourselves smaller.
9/x
He/him lesbians, bi/pan lesbians, nonbinary lesbians, and femboys have been around longer than any of us have been alive. Terms may change over the decades, but these identities aren't new; they're an intrinsic part of the ongoing fabric of queerness, of human experience.
10/x
10/x
One of the only "rules" about being queer that holds any water with me is that the only person who gets to say who you are is you.
The necessary corollary to this rule, which we really need to understand in a hurry, is that the only person you get to define is yourself.
11/x
The necessary corollary to this rule, which we really need to understand in a hurry, is that the only person you get to define is yourself.
11/x
Stop policing other people's identities, identifiers, and experiences. If you don't understand something, ask to be educated. If you don't agree with the logic behind someone's identity, just walk on by. They don't need your approval, just like you don't need theirs.
12/x
12/x
The queer umbrella is so big, friends. It's big enough for all of us, and for identities and experiences we haven't yet come up with labels for. The one thing we have in common is that we're here.
13/x
13/x
If we share nothing else in common, we should all understand what it's like to be rejected for who we are: kicked out of homes, deprived of shelter and safety, denied companionship and community.
Turned into an other.
That might be the only universal of queer experience.
14/x
Turned into an other.
That might be the only universal of queer experience.
14/x
Don't be the reason someone feels kicked out of a home they have every right to claim as theirs.
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15/end
PS: And no, "chaser" isn't a damn slur. Knock that nonsense right the hell off. 
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