being gay has changed almost all of my/my friends interactions with the rest of society so PLEASE stop saying it “makes you no different” and “it doesn’t affect you” and “everyone is the same”. this is a childish, ineffective way to address internalized homophobia.
your intentions are good, but you’re erasing years of trauma, abuse and isolation within gay populations caused by homophobic violence.
closeted or not, every gay person has had their interactions with others shaped by fear of homophobic retaliation. it’s not as simple as “they like the same sex”. it’s cultural. it’s beaten into us from reading age to reject “gayness” and femininity.
gay people do act differently from straight people, not because they are gay, but because they are raised in a society that rejects them, even before they know they’re different.
if i have a daughter im going to name her lizard and then she’ll get the nickname liz and everyone will be like “oh is it short for elizabeth?” and she will have to say “no my name is lizard”
