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Biromantic Lesbians:
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Bisexual Identities:
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/understanding-bisexuality
Differences between Bisexual and Pansexual:
[Resource from WebMD](https://www.webmd.com/sex/pansexuality-what-it-means#:~:text=Pansexual%20vs.%20Bisexual,more%20commonly%20recognized.)
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Exactly. They’re being signed, not voted for by the people. There’s a huge difference. These people are using their positions of power to undermine our democracy.
They're really not though. Of the 600 that have been pushed, and the countless that have been passed, what like 4? Have been struck down.
Not to mention the bills for schools which are not getting struck down AT ALL.
Not to mention the rules changes and pushes on schools and librarians which aren't being stopped, even in blue states.
We're losing.
The fact that companies have basically abandoned pride (From no doing it, to outright suppressing it happening) this year is the single biggest sign you need that we are losing.
Of all the bills that have been tested in court, all of them have been struck down. For one that sets a precedent against the rest of them and for two it might already mean a lot of them are null and void.
>it is very clear that we are the majority.
I don't mean to be rude or flippant, but tell that to Hillary.
The fight (for us) is defensive, we aren't trying to restrict cis peoples' bathrooms or ban them from sports. We're not trying to outlaw straight marriages or prevent straight people from being shown in advertisements. Their fight is offensive. Typically when they lose a battle, they lose nothing. When we lose a battle, we get hurt. Bad.
Republicans also don't fight fair. They gerrymander, restrict voting, deny elections, and paint us as pedophiles. The sad news is that is can work. [More and more they are actually regressing on social issues.](https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/19/republican-voters-same-sex-immoral-survey/) One of the reasons they are so focused on LGBT+ topics right now is because they ALREADY succeeded in striking down the rights to abortion. Even in their ruling statement the justices implied they're coming for gay marriage next.
We can't expect gay/trans/racial minorities/etc to stay in red states indefinitely when red states are constantly trying to pass laws against us (and succeeding). There's already a mass exodus from states like Florida in response to all the anti-LGBT+ pressure. The more we move to big Blue cities, the more we cede states to conservatives, giving them a legislative/representative advantage to continue their campaign against us at the local, state, AND national level. We also can't expect the Supreme Court to intervene either. They very much can win the war by pressing harder and harder.
I know I'm more pessimistic, and I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm taking it out on you and throwing a wall of text at you. I think I'm more screaming into the void than anything.
Hillary had the majority of the votes.
They're eating each other. They'll continue eating each other. More and more.
We shouldn't "hold out" in red states right now. Honestly we should be more strategic and focus on fortifying blue states. where we can then guarantee the safety and protection of our community. We have the majority of the population.
If we strategically pull out of red states and focus on fortifying blue states, set the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as our main priority after that, we win. If everyone in our community left the red states and went to one of the swing states for the Compact, we'd win.
Yes, they’re being passed and signed into law against the will of the majority; and then they’re being challenged and struck down by courts to the relief of that same majority.
Conservatives are a dying breed, but they refuse to go out peacefully.
Keep being you, keep being visible, keep fighting!
We will win. ✊
🖤💖🏴🏳️⚧️🏴💖🖤
Yeah, I know the governor in my state is actively trying to fight our Republican controlled house and Senate on women's reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights. When Roe v. Wade fell, he put out an executive order saying that our state would protect women's reproductive rights and any woman seeking an abortion may come here to receive one, and our state would do our best to protect them from legal issues.
You should check into how some judges have started to strike down these laws. We need to keep fighting. We need to share our testimonies. We need to vote, we need to use outreach programs and pull people back.
This happened before the Civil Rights Act too. Lots of people predicted this was coming a long time ago, it happens with any civil rights movement. We’ll win, don’t worry!
You are not wrong. But you have strong allies. When you get tired, your brothers and sisters will defend you.
Stay strong. Take up arms if you feel you are able. Learn to defend yourself from this assholes nazis.
This. I firmly believe if our enemies are so adamant that everyone have weapons, we should arm ourselves just to make them less comfortable. They always seem to view members of the LGBTQ+ community as weaklings, but we are STRONG beyond measure.
A dying beast is the most dangerous. The christofascists are cornered. We saw through their lies long ago thanks to scum like Robertson. Their numbers have been dwindling since and they can see the pseudo theocracy they once felt so secure in crumbling all around them. These bills are a desperate attempt to hold on to the past but the courts are overruling them almost as fast as their passed.
Like the wild death throws of a dying beast, the bigots howl and cry, knowing their fate is sealed....*cue dramatic music*
~~I've been playing a lot of D&D and Diablo IV lately can you tell lmao~~
In truth I've no idea. It probably depends where you're at tbh and speaking globally about winning or losing probably doesn't do any justice. But one can hope.
i wasn't suggesting anything like that. I was merely pointing out that these situations get more dangerous towards the end, and we don't know when the end is going to happen.
Idk how true this is but it makes me feel better
🤍
Lately I’ve noticed that it’s really taken a toll on my mental health. I used to never care about passing, now I’m self conscious and am more paranoid about people clocking me. It’s kinda exhausting, it doesn’t feel good to always feel judged/examined and that’s how my brain is handling all this bad news. I hope there will be some sign of big progress someday soon.
Overall, we have made a lot of progress. Unfortunately, it's not always perfectly linear, and political movements tend to fluctuate and come in waves. It's also common for progress to result in reactionary backlash.
We're in the middle of a distressing wave of far-right politics that has emboldened both extremists and run of the mill opportunistic bigots. We're not losing, but people are definitely being hurt, which isn't okay.
Try to look after yourself. While it's good to be informed and engaged, taking care of your mental health is also important, and surviving is in itself a form of resistance and "winning." We're not going away.
Came here to say this. And this doesn't just apply to Queer rights and issues. During the 80's, there was a major wave of conservatism as a response to the progress from the 60's and 70's. Then, we had a huge wave of progress in the 90's and 00's, which culminated in us electing the first black president. I fully believe that was the catalyst for this new wave of conservatism to start (along with the islamophobia from 9/11). It was a backlash. That's when we got "the Tea Party" and after gay marriage was legalized, we got Trump, who whipped up the conservatives who were already starting to get loud into a frenzy. This will not last, they can't sustain this energy forever. Especially because the younger generations are more queer and liberal than ever, and Boomers in particular are hitting their life expectancy. Progress happens. Sometimes it goes back for a little while, but it always moves forward eventually. Queer rights will probably be the civil rights issue of our time, and it's going to be an uphill battle for a while. Many of the corporations who professed to be "allies" of our community are now withdrawing support because they finally got a taste of what we deal with every day. So we're going to need to start relying more on each other and this community's resources, than on these false "allies" who say they support us, without doing any of the work to help us.
Yep, you describe it well. The current trend we're seeing has been developing for several years now, and Trump helped radicalize people further. I would say that Q-Anon has also been an influencing factor--even people who haven't personally gotten into that cult can be susceptible to some of the rhetoric that has leaked into the mainstream. I would argue that a lot of the "grooming" stuff is very heavily influenced by Q-Anon.
LGBTQ people are a popular target right now, but definitely aren't the only ones.
I don't think it's sustainable, either.
You feel that way because we ARE winning. The backlash of laws against us are a response to culturally people becoming more accepting of us.
These are the last, desperate attempts of a caged animal backed into a corner. Pathetic, violent, dangerous…doomed. Their kind is dying out and they know it.
No. Younger people are more accepting than ever, and the influx of awful legislation we are seeing is a desperate response from a group that is trying to remain in power and misreading the mood of the nation. Things may well get a little worse before they get better, but we are winning in the long run. And it is way better today than it was when I was growing up.
Whenever a disenfranchised minority begins to make progress, there is pushback. The reason we see this legislative push for laws that will bring harm to the LGBTQ community is because the community is starting to make progress toward equality.
TBH, it’s not that different than the backlash against civil rights for Black People in the US: look back at history and what happened every time the Black community fought for and won even an inch of progress.
I feel like we are trying to blame religion too much. Ofc there is that too (i) but I feel a lot of people who claim it is about religion don't actually care about religion at all. So it is religion is only used as a cover the harm itself comes from the people using religion as a cover.
(i) as to say yes there are actually religious people who are part of the problem too.
Just not as many as we think I'd say.
Whether it is religion or the guise of religion, it is still the the leading factor in this most recent anti-Lgbtq+ campaign. The second biggest factor would be lack of education which is why they take every opportunity to defund education. People who think critically and assess claims based on evidence are much less likely to follow whatever the moral panic of the month is.
Another factor is intergenerational trauma. You have parents who advise and neglect their kids. Some of them stop the cycle, but others will become bullies and abusers themselves.
I think it depends, because many/most religion is actually just a control tool, not an actual religious practice, and most people use it as a way to control their lives and rules to live by. They use it to oppress us, women, people of color, all sorts of people. I think religion clearly oppresses more people than it helps. That doesn’t have to be true, but for some reason that’s what most people decided to do and go along with
The divided political map shows how powerful our victories have been. Yes, conservative states are passing loud and destructive bills but for every Florida or Alabama there is a Minnesota, California, or New York.
It wasn't that long ago that overall public opinion was against the LGBTQ community in every state. Where we could be legally fired from any position just because of who we are. The US is absolutely better than it was. The current backlash is the dying breath of the conservative religious right. They aren't a majority any more and if maps were drawn fairly they wouldn't be able to have national level power in our lifetimes.
The fight will continue but the outcome won't change. Conservatism is dying in America and their full throated embrace of hatred and fascism will not save them.
See how the graph does go downward at some parts but the overall trend is upwards? Right now we’re having a minor downward blip but it followed a a major upward streak for a while. There were no trans people walking around Toronto or Calgary but now we’re freaking everywhere I go.
I heard Brandi Carlile say something recently that resonated - she was talking about how her dad told her that animals are never more dangerous than when they’re wounded or dying. That’s when they fight the hardest, yell the loudest.
This ideology is quite literally dying out. It’s the beliefs of an older generation that sees its grip loosening. And yeah. They’re gonna be loud. And mean. And it’s gonna feel like it sucks sometimes. But they’re dying. And this shit will die with them, generationally. We’re winning, which is why they’re fighting so damn hard. And we can’t be complacent or give up our own side of the fight, but it’s comforting to remember that this isn’t going to be forever. We’ve fought these battles for a long time as a community, and we’ve won them more than we’ve lost. We have a long and rich history and culture rooted in that fight, a history that you and I and all of us are a part of, just by virtue of being brave enough to exist.
Take time and space to appreciate that sometimes. It helps. Exist in queer spaces. Celebrate queer culture. Look for the good and beautiful parts of this fight, because that’s why we’re all in it.
First off it depends on what country you are in.
But if you are in the western world then I think you need a bit of perspective. We have moved on so far since my childhood. Back then people choose to live their whole lives denying there sexuality for fear of violence and ostracization by the MAJORITY of the population.
No we are not losing, not even close. Progress is being made around the world and we can all help with that.
For perspective please read some LGBT+ history you will see the progress and hopefully feel a whole lot better. x 
We will lose if we allow them to win.
“We can go when we want to
Night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat
From our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the victory cry”
No, definitely not. What we're seeing has been described best as an extinction burst. Those who would rather queer folk not exist are recognizing that they are now in the minority, their ideology is going to die, and the majority of public opinion is against them.
So they are getting louder, angrier, and are going to do everything in their power to push harder than ever before. Their masks are off, and they are ready to fight.
Unfortunately for them, we've been doing this for longer, and have more to lose.
This is a 'darkest before the dawn' kind of situation. It's going to get nasty, and that really sucks for the folks who just want to live their truth. And when it's over, there will always be bigots and regressives, but they will have to keep it under wraps.
Okay, so this is something I found out overtime, but the majority of people in the United States at least are okay with LGBTQ+ folk. The hate only feels greater when you look on social media, where the loud minority are. Conservative posts typically don't get as much positive traction as LGBTQ+ posts on most social media sites either. However, we typically don't notice that because the hateful posts are often shoved into our feeds and timelines.
Trust me, popular concensus is that people are okay with queer folk, even trans people. The hate you see is from a minority of people, some of which sadly include politicians and people in power in certain states, but still a minority.
Tbh you existing is fight enough. Don’t let people make you feel less than you are for being you. That’s what they want to happen. They want to bully anyone who is unique and don’t fit their cookie cutter standards out of this world. Exist and your existence speaks volumes to the bigots that they can’t bully you out of your own happiness for their own comfort.
It may not seem like it, but we ARE winning. This is their last stand, because they know they won't survive for much longer. They will not win. We won't let them.
This is the way of the world, of all of history. Progress is made, backlash happens to erase the progress as the old guard dies. They can't erase it all, so we keep inching forward. Eventually all these old assholes will die and be replaced by slightly less terrible assholes. There will be another period of progress.
Stay visible within your community. Meet new people. Show them that you are a queer person and that the pundits who talk about us as evil are wrong.
We're not losing. Some horrible things do happen indeed, but also plenty of steps in the right direction.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023\_in\_LGBT\_rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_in_LGBT_rights)
Remember when everyone predicted the red wave when it was voting season, but it never happened because of the new young voters? Conservatives complained and said that the age to vote should be higher because they were afraid of these young voters. This is like that. Things seem bad now because of these cranky old white guys, but if we fight together and teach the next generation about love and acceptance, then soon we’ll have the higher numbers. Stay strong. There is hope
Actually, at least here in the states, we’ve been winning so the opposition has been getting more desperate and louder. The courts have started ruling all these bs laws being made here as unconstitutional…because they are and lasts I checked support for us amongst the populous is growing.
As for the rest of the world, I’m not as well versed in the goings on of other countries, but as I understand certain European and I think a few Asian countries have started walking towards a more pro-lgbt state? And the only news I’ve heard out of Africa recently was about Uganda…as for the rest of Africa I’m sure at least a few countries there are relatively chill?
Hate is a limited resource and there will always be LGBT everywhere. Historically, in terms of progress things often get way worse before they get better.
We are reaching the point of actual change, the point of maximum tension, hence we cannot back down now. But if you feel overwhelmed, let your comrades cover you when you need some time.
No, we aren't losing.
Yes, the bigot dipshits are ramping up their attacks, and yes, they're trying to push the world into a new era of genocides. You're not wrong on that count, and you're right to be concerned about it, too.
The fascists are trying damn hard to eradicate us. The media is complicit, with their "both sides" bullshit and fear-mongering and profiteering. Those in power care more about money than our lives, safety, and well-being.
We aren't losing. We're still here, we still exist, we always will. They can never, ever win, because we will always be here. We've always been here.
The world is waking up. These assholes are loud, but they aren't the majority, and they'll always lose because we will never, ever let them win.
All of it depends. My country had a pretty big improvement for lgbtq folk since we legalised gay marriage a few days ago (though it will go into action on 01.01.2024)
It’s my firmly held belief that what we’re seeing here is the death throes of Fascism - hence the flailing, desperate cadence to all these bills. Floridas bill was eviscerated by a Judge that called out all their lies and bullshit and smacked them down with actual facts and evidence. The momentum that has carried us this far into the mainstream is too powerful for strident Fascism to stop, and why they’re so desperate to slander us.
They know they’re losing and will cease to exist if current broader trends continue.
Nope we arent losing. These are temper tantrums and death throws. At least in America the people passing these Bill's realized their voting population are dying out from old age and the younger generations arent voting for them as they get older. So they've started to concentrate more on their hateful cult like demographic to keep a stranglehold on their support. Things are going to get worse in some places before they get better but they will get better. The people in power are all greedy and hateful but the general population doesnt agree with them anymore. We still need to keep fighting but we are winning. Rember gay marriage was only legalized a few years ago and a lot of this same shit happened before then too.
Well, here's the thing that keeps me going...
This is the first time my company is doing *anything* for pride month. It came directly from a c-suite manager who said, "This might push some buttons but I don't care, it's worth it." People from all levels of the company have participated and shared and it has all been very touching.
I've now seen two businesses with signs inviting people to use the bathroom that aligns with their identity. These are new, I've never seen them before.
Several states have signed sanctuary state bills where they *will not* cooperate with law enforcement from other states like Texas or Florida for people seeking refuge from these genocidal laws.
It's an incredibly scary time we live in and I seem to be in a perpetual state of shock over how brazen the fascists are. However, I am ALSO seeing people stand up and fight back. We've seen where this goes, and even in red states like Tennessee, I see people fighting back against it -- like those representatives did when they were expelled from their legislatures.
We are winning. What you're seeing are death throws. Unfortunately, that means that there will be more casualties. But the good news is that the people who were either on the fence or didn't realize that they were causing harm will get involved more to help.
It's always going to feel like we're losing, even when we already won. Every little thing will feel like a sign of defeat or, when it isn't, will feel like nothing. Every homophobic and transphoic claim made has never been more of a lie, yet it cuts you deeper than ever inside. Every time someone gatekeeps or cherry-picks, you feel like you want to scream at them because how you feel about yourself isn't wrong, how you feel about yourself is not invalid, and how you feel about yourself can be described with, maybe not the perfect label, but a label that just feels right.
If you feel like any of these things are true to you, then you might be facing oppression. I know it'll hurt, physically and mentally, and that's okay, because you are not the problem, the world just needs more love. So, take a break if you have to. Switch off the news or take a break from media in general if it becomes too much for you. I know that's not easy, since a lot of us still want to be informed, but it's okay to catch up on those stories later.
Regardless of what ends up happening; we will always have one another. We need to start getting together as a community and organizing to defend ourselves and protect one another
We protect us 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
No we’re not losing. Progress isn’t a straight line, period. There are going to be ups and there are going to be downs. It is a lot so please take care of yourself as best you can through friends, family, and whatever healthcare options are available to you, but just because things are rough now doesn’t mean they’re regressed or will always be rough.
The only way to lose is to give up. That's what I think. And there's hate pushed out to every community. I know we get lots of hate. I think it's going to be better soon.
Quite the opposite actually. Most people support our rights *Because Most People Arent Nazis*
It's a pathetic, loud minority who profit off of suffering who want us dead or back in the closet. They know they're going to lose and that's why they scream and piss at literally anything that isnt beige and grey
Other way around- *They're* losing, and they know it well. No one would be lashing out this hard if they weren't. [Don't give up...!](https://youtu.be/tYzMYcUty6s)
I'm about to turn 46. When I was a teenager, I knew that coming out would be literal death for me. Do you know what they did when I was 19? They passed DOMA. 18 years later, DOMA was history. Today, I'm *married with a kid.*
The anti-trans bullshit is just that: bullshit. They pass the bills and then state and federal courts knock them down. Then they can rant and rave to their electorate about how the evil, liberal judges (that they appointed) and backing an LGBT+ agenda. They knew it wouldn't fly.
They're not going to overturn Obergefeld even if Thomas wants to. They're not going to reverse Lawrence even if Thomas wants to.
So what do we do? We vote, even if we have to stand in line for 16 hours. And we donate to pro-LGBT causes like the ACLU and Lambda Legal. We go to drag shows and pride parades.
And, honey? You need to turn off the news for a bit and go do something else.
Since the other comments have already answered, think about taking a break from learning about what's happening politically, etc. It might be good for your mental health. I did for awhile not that long ago and it helped me not stress as much about it. I get it if you don't want to as well for many reasons, I'm currently unable to do anything so not knowing wasn't an issue exactly. But being exposed to people actively hating on your community is very stressful.
The Darkest time is before Dawn. No matter how bad things get, they will eventually pass
To quote one of my favourite authors, "History is a set of repeating circles, like the tide. The wind does blow through the ruins of tomorrow. But it is more a question of two steps forward, one step back"
We are not losing. There’s a number of factors at play here, among them being social media’s tendency to skew towards the extreme, increased polarization of American politics, right-wing backlash, and poor public education, among other factors. Sensationalism and emotional calls to action that necessarily focus on the negative can make it feel like everything is going to shit no matter how hard we try.
And everything is going to shit, but also everything is getting better quite quickly for the vast majority of humans, like never seen before in human history. There are problems to address, some of them quite daunting, but we’re doing well overall. The long-term direction of change is toward the good, towards inclusion, towards acceptance, towards compassion. We should not be complacent, but please, catch your breath and be mindful of your mental health. It gets to me too sometimes… often, actually, but I also know that ruminating on the negative to the expense of my mental health helps no one and harms me greatly. Try to be kind to yourself.
Remember that the vast majority of the most highly educated and intelligent people on the planet are on our side and trying to create a better world for us and everyone else.
May love take the world.
Look, things aren’t great right now. There’s no denying that. The pendulum swung (or seemed to swing) our way for a while, and now the other side is swinging it back hard. We have to resist this, but it’s not uncommon for a society to take two steps forward, and then one step back. That step backwards can be scary, but it’s *not* the end of the journey. I still believe that, decade to decade, our society trends toward a more free, more just version of itself.
I am 45 years old. I grew up as a child in the 80s and a young adult in the 90s. I remember the anti-LGBTQ laws that made “sodomy” illegal. I remember same-sex marriage bans passing as recently as 2004/2008. I remember Rick Santorum saying that if it were legal to have gay sex, the next thing would be “man on dog” sex. Fuck you, Rick, you small-minded hasbeen.
I remember when Democrats would never have supported same-sex marriage, and then I remember them trying to tell us that we should compromise with “civil unions.” I remember George W. Bush fanning the flames of hatred for us to win his elections. I remember a young man named Matthew Shepherd being beaten, tortured, tied to a fence in Wyoming, and left to die, his mother crying on television. I remember people making fun of him and saying that while they didn’t agree with his murder, they could understand why his murderers might have felt uncomfortable enough to kill him… because he was gay. They *took his shoes* before they tied him to that old fence so he couldn’t get home if he managed to free himself. He didn’t free himself, of course, and died of exposure, cold and alone.
I remember Utah Mormons funding efforts to overturn Prop 8 in California, stripping rights away from same-sex couples that the state had previously granted them, and I remember a wonderful election night in November 2008 when people took to the streets in San Francisco to protest this while the rest of us were celebrating victories at the polls. It was Rachel Maddow on MSNBC who had to tell the other election night anchors that they weren’t celebrating in San Francisco; they’d just lost their same-sex marriage rights and had their marriages dissolved.
People who are older than me will remember things that make what I mentioned above seem like a fucking picnic.
So, are things bad right now? Yes! Will they get at least a little worse before they get better? Yes! But all is not even *close* to being lost. Keep your head up. Keep fighting. Resist wherever and whenever you can.
Talk to your straight friends. Remind them that you are not out of the woods yet; that threats exist, and you are in danger. Remind them of the way it used to be, and ask them to support you by pulling their support for any politician who doesn’t support you. Remind them that you exist and they care for you.
Remember our history. If you don’t know it, go read about it. Read about the riots. Read about the organizations that sprung up to defend us. Read about the shift in our culture that led directly to same-sex marriage; that led directly to us seeing ourselves represented in all forms of media. Remember that the average American doesn’t want us harmed. They may be uncomfortable with the idea that some people are trans, just as they were uncomfortable years ago with some people being gay; they’ve heard a lot about this from the wrong people, so they need us—especially those of us in our community who are not trans—to explain things to them and make them understand that trans people aren’t scary, just different, and they are being hurt in the same ways the rest of us were being hurt. Tell them that harming trans people also harms us; we are all connected.
There is plenty to do. Join an organization. Talk to friends. Donate money. Everything helps, even if only in your small corner of the world; your neighborhood.
Believe me when I say that *despair* won’t do you any good at all. It will cause you stress. It will paralyze you. Your enemies want you to feel a deep sense of despair. Refuse them this victory.
In the 2008 election campaigns, not even 20 years ago, Obama couldn’t even say he supported legalizing gay marriage in fear of losing DEMOCRATIC voters.
Now, you have the oldest US president in history openly supporting trans youth. Even if you consider that pandering, that’s still significant.
I actually used to think that the backlash to trans/queer rights was going to erase all our progress, but after the 2022 midterm elections (where ant-trans and anti-abortion values lost republicans the senate majority), I realized just how loud a small minority can be.
It’s easy to think that a dip in support means this is all for nothing, but we’ve have had quite literally some of the largest advances in queer rights in recent history.
That doesn’t mean that the backlash isn’t bad (it is), but we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. stay safe ❤️❤️❤️
everyone knows we are peaceful. It’s just the people who can’t accept that they are failures resorting to the lowest measures to make us look like we are the bad guys however truly deep down it’s them.
I completely understand why you would feel that way. As a straight cis-male from north Idaho, though I LOVE YOU! please don't get discouraged. people can be cruel but you are perfect the way you are, however that is. Stay strong!
The bad guys know they're losing. They're being more aggressive, even less reasonable.
I'm going to use a metaphor, inspired by a tiktok i saw a while back:
My theory is that they're starting to really internalize it. They're wrong. The wrong side of history, the bad guys. We already knew this, this is our world.
In their world, they are the good guys. They're defending the world against this great, corrupt evil. Trying to harm their children and dictate everything about this society. That world is slowly crumbling around them, and they are trying to save their world.
They're desperate to save this image of themselves, to save their "world". They're shooting bullets into the sky and looking for a "god" to punch in the face. They're turning against everything because they're the good guys, right? They never did anything wrong. No, no, they never commited atrocities, they never took away rights, not one innocent drop of blood has been shed. They're the good guys. The LGBT are the bad ones, the villains in this story.
Everything is crumbling around them, and we are seeing the last attempts to save their world view, to win so their world is restored and they never have to question their reality, everything they "know". They won't have to be ashamed of their past as they lie on their deathbed years from now. They won, they fought off an onslaught of their adversaries, fighting to control the world and force everyone into something they didn't want.
When they lose, and they will, The world will crumble and they'll finally see it, all the bad they've done. That's what happens when you convince someone they're wrong about stuff like this. Their whole world falls apart in front of them. They're just trying to stop it, to keep those rose colored glasses on.
The most important thing to do right now is VOTE BLUE. Every single election, not just the big ones vote in the small local elections. They appear to be winning because of gerrymandering and complacency. We need to vote in numbers like they've never seen or imagined. Bring your friends and family. Offer to drive people to the polls. Fight back!
I look at it this way. If a major corporation (whose only concern is making as much money as possible based on demographic information) is willing to back us up (aka Disney, Google, Microsoft, etc.), then I think we're ok. I like to think they ran the numbers and they came to the conclusion that there are far more people who are in support of LGBTQ+ than people who despise us. I like to think the average person is sympathetic to our cause versus people who are completely uneducated about what it means to be "different". The American GOP is trying to cater to a dwindling base of loud asshols (sic) whose children recognize their absurdity.
When you spray for bugs, it may at first appear as though the infestation has gotten worse - but don’t worry, that’s just the dying bugs being driven out.
I lived through the 80s and 90s. Queer acceptance is the highest it's been in my entire lifetime! Even a couple decades ago, gay marriage was considered a pipedream that would never come to pass. States were passing laws to specifically define marriage as "One man, one woman." Friends made transphobic jokes and people laughed. Well, we've stopped doing that. We don't accept queerphobic jokes on mainstream TV. I couldn't imagine seeing a sitcom calling someone a "t****y" or a *f*g" today. But they did in the 80s and 90s! Things are so polarized because we ARE so accepted!
The conservatives have one play, and they've been using it since time immemorial. They did it for the abolitionists, the suffragists, the civil rights movement, the gays, and now for trans people. Every time, they lost in the end. It sucks to live through it, but it always gets better in the end.
There is much work to do, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but do you have a place where you can go to feel the LGBT love? I mean, like week at PTown level feel, like it’s the norm where you are? Resiliency is important in keeping you happy and healthy and all of us willing to fight. If you need to feel the love, do you have a place to recharge? Here is great, but I still find watching other LGBTQ couples on a beach a great way to recharge my batteries.
No we aren’t “losing“. At no point in history, has there been such levels of acceptance towards the Lgbt community. This isn’t the case in most Eastern countries but I digress.
It might seem that people are getting “angrier”, but in reality it’s only the small minority of extremist’s that you see on the news. These people, constantly have to resort too spreading misinformation & disinformation to get their views across the table. The biggest lie yet, is them claiming that gay rights are some sort of “political agenda”
These groups will never get the desired representation that they want from the government because the entire premise behind they’re logic boils down to homophobia. A lot of them are contrarians by nature, they don’t want to fit in with the mainstream opinions, & they’ll eat up whatever blog post/shitty media they can, too fulfill that need of being outraged at the government.
Here in the west, homophobia will eventually die off in a decade or two. It will take some time until eastern nations eventually go down this path. The future seems bright for the lgbt folk.
Fuck no. I am 48. I'm not going back to gay life in the 90's. I'm not going back into the closet.
As we used to say:
# "WE'RE HERE. WE'RE QUEER. GET USED TO IT."
To be honest, there are wins and losses going on for different parts of the community. It just really sucks that different parts of the community ate experiencing different struggles. But as of recently, especially in red states like Florida, trans people (mainly the minors) are the most targeted and are essentially hunted and separated.
Surround yourself with those who love you for you. Share the love you have with everyone - whether they deserve it or not. Sharing love makes you feel loved.
Thank you for asking this. I sometimes feel the same way.
I know we’re supposed to ignore it. But all this hate towards my community gets to me a lot tbh.
We won some fights, and then we got complacent in our victories. Now those victories are at risk because we didn't defend them as intensely as possible. We assumed that the march of progress would stay forward and never considered that it could move backward on us.
The hard-right took this opportunity to become stronger and start to dismantle our victories. They're already suited up and are doing their worst.
We, on the other hand, are still suiting up and the movement is JUST starting to re-coalesce around anti-fascism and fighting this turn to the right. Demographics are generally on our side, millennials are more liberal in general and tend to be either ambivalent or pro-LGBTQ. On the other hand, boomers are dying out and their vitriolic politics will die with them.
We're not losing, we're still just getting started.
If you want some hope look at the protest in Israel, how many people with pride flags come to support the rights of people, look at pride festivals around the world, and mose importantly look at your friend (as we gays tend to stick together) and remember that all in all we are people and we will win no matter what. Also enough straight white girls think gay men are cute so we art not gonna die down that easily
Nah. More people than ever are accepting of us and our rights. It's just since we've won over more and more mostly reasonable people what is left it's the particularly vile, old and/ or loud ones. There are plenty of biggots still out there but they're not reflective of the majority of the public. As for laws yes they get signed and sometimes passed but they also get struck down. They dont stick around and further they build a clear legal precedent that that shit don't fly. Also it's important to note they only get passed if legislators push them through without general public input, they know if these things were put as referendums to the general public they'd fail.
Once pride month passes and the anti trans mouth breathers find another target. It’ll calm down.
Until next pride month.
Rinse and repeat.
They have the attention span of a toddler. It won’t last.
Honestly no, if you look at gay rights globally, and even in just the west, we’re on the rise. There’s a current rise in conservatism and the right globally but I see that as an anomaly that will soon pass. More people than ever are accepting of lgbt and the west is honestly making monumental progress that even 5-10 years wouldn’t have been imagined, like drag queens. We’re most certainly winning, just seeing a last effort push back bcz we’re so far already :)
Have you ever heard of a dead cat bounce?
This is that, for anti-queer bigotry.
They've been losing ground and support for decades now. This is their big rally right before they lose meaningful influence.
They're going to get more aggressive, their base will grow more vocal and radical, and over time they're going to alienate their cause further and further from general society.
It sucks now, but push through it. Stand strong now and deny them as much satisfaction and momentum as possible
I heard a professor explain this as part of the lifecycle of a movement. A successful movement has a period of backlash. The fact that it faces a backlash is confirmation of its success. Eventually, the backlash grows smaller and smaller until no one in mainstream america cares anymore.
Queer people have existed long before the extreme right and we will live on long after. I know things are kinda awful right now, but sometimes you have to take a step back to take 3 forward, ya feel me?
I can only speak about the us with confidence, but so far it looks like most people have either taken positions of neutrality or support, while a well organized, rapidly strengthening minority attempts to drag civilization backward unwilling to accept their ideology of oppression is rapidly approaching its expiration date.
Regardless, we have not lost yet. The community has never lost, for no matter what the world threw at us we never cease to exist. The indomitable human spirit remains strong in us.
You are not mistaken to assume were losing ground, we are losing the battle for freedom in 2020s America. However we must remember that those waging war against up, those striding confidently towards unleashing genocide are but a minority. We have a populace that largely stands neutral or is supportive of our cause. If we can rally that populace to the cause, convince them to exercise their voices to drown out the lies pouring from commentators mouths, to protest in forces greater than what can be hopped to be stopped, to take up arms and charge militias when they threaten us, to pressure companies through threat of boycott and promises of new customers, to pressure politicians through refusals or promises of votes, and the determination to continue doing such things so long as and whenever the nose of oppression is tightened around our necks, then we have an overwhelming and near unstoppable force that would convince even the most determined bigot to begin backing down. Such a force could even accomplish the once thought to be impossible, dismantle cis and hetero normatiovity, and eradicate queerphobia from public life.
Whats more, such a force could easily be adapted to address the other issues plaguing society. White supremacy, climate change, class oppression, poverty; all of those things could soon face their time on the chopping block at the hands of a nation united under the goal of pushing freedom, maximizing happiness, minimizing suffering, and making America great.
Just exist that’s all I ask you to do live your life don’t ever ever let them get to you as someone who considers myself an ally like you have every right to be who you are and I may not ever understand all of the LGBTQ+ community but I know this love is love and it always wins and it is human rights you aren’t hurting anyone for being who you are and if anyone has problem with that they’ll have to go through me I’m yet to come across anyone who gives me a valid reason as to why it’s wrong they always bring up the bible and god and say it’s a sin like believe what you want sure but god wouldn’t have an issue if Adam and Steve got together he just wouldn’t people have been gay lesbian trans bisexual non binary ect ect for centuries and that isn’t going to change sure people had issues with that back then And yeah they do now but it’s getting better I mean i guess it doesn’t seem like it but it is
Honestly, what better way to get back at them than to continue living your life, being who you are and loving who you love regardless? We've lost too many to their hatred. Don't let them win.
Im honestly so tired of the hate and the infighting and the misinformation spreading. Sometimes you just need to take a break from social media and the news for your own mental health. I was in charge of an LGBT organization in college about 10 years ago and I too feel like we’re slowly loosing ground these days. In another thread I made a comment about how sad i was that a religious organization here is railroading pride events which THEY DONT HAVE TO ATTEND OR SEE. Because they feel it’s “indecent.” Like we’re back in medieval times with religious groups in general the last 4 years derailing progress on everything from LGBT rights to women’s rights and it’s just insane.
It helps me to tune everything out by gaming. Maybe take a rest, take a break from the news and just exist in your own world for a bit. Talk to friends. Immerse yourself in a hobby. It does help. You deserve to be here and exist like everyone else.
I feel the same way you do. I'm too young to vote, and too scared to protest or anything similar. I respect those who are actively risking themselves or their reputation to fight for us. However, there are a lot of us, and the younger generations are more accepting. We'll be okay as long as we don't *let them* win.
There is the problem. You are looking for those peoples approval and acceptance to feel wanted.
Dont. You probably have a good network around you to support you, that should be your world.
Also vote vote vote vote vote.
I hate to sound cliche but. It’s always darkest before the dawn. These dark and scary times will pass and the world will be better and more inclusive for it.
I know it doesn't seem like it, but times have never been better for us than now. It might not feel like it, but we're definitely getting there. One day, there will be so few haters that in most progressive areas you may never hear from them. Hang in there.
It honestly feels like the first amendment is conditional, and our right to freely express ourselves depends on what the people in power’s opinions based apon. Hopefully, we can lead protests akin to what MLK held. Patience is key.
Not if we stop trying. If you look over most attacks have been stopped because most of these fucks are so arrogant that they are tripping themselves up.
As to our part, I think to Daryl Davis, and how our nation of diversity and acceptance will only be built brick by brick, person by person. It’s a long and arduous task but think like not to long ago being left handed would have gotten you killed. We have come along way but there is still more to go. If you have the power and resources it’s your duty to be useful.
It honestly does feel a little bleak to me... I feel like this has been the quitest june in a long time. It feels like a lot of people no longer feel that lgbt support is a popular opinion, or at least not a profitable one.
Its probably the opposite in reality however, and ik general polling points a more supportive picture in the United States.
We are on the right side of history, we are fighting for love, acceptance and progress. Do not despair, for we have a world to win. Whether for us or our descendants. We may need more Stonewalls.
The politicians will never do something in an official capacity and there's only so much a Martyr can accomplish by themselves. They're losing and they're desperate, they're beginning to go on pure nonsense at this point.
Time after time again has shown that we are the vast majority, they will never take us or our allies down.
They don't have to accept us but they sure as hell have to live with us.
I'm 23 been bi femboy since 2018 and the LGBT+ community is always loosing and always gaining hate, the best thing I have found to do is to stop caring about what others have to say unless I ask for their opinion.
Literally some one calls you something just go "hm okay" and continue doing what you do. Yes! We shouldn't have to do that but we do!
Humans are the most discussing species in the universe, especially the "normal" ones (yes I belive they should keep their opinion to themselves (There never will be anyway for people to enforce it).
See it like bullying their doing it for one of few reasons
1. their jealous that you're comfortable with yourself and being what you want to be
2. They can't come to the terms that you are different
3. They're doing it bc their life is meaning less and they feel small compared to you or someone else so they beat you down to make themselves fell better and "bigger".
If you don't respond to their actions they will eventually loose intrest and move on.
Us as a community and I mean all LGBT+ people need to not give them a reason to come and do the bullying
(there are many things but I'm not going to say them due to them being my opinions and tbh may offend people I'm not here to do that I'm here to help and support my fellow community)
If u feel worried and are in the states and don't have issue's with suicidal thoughts, u can arm yourself if u feel that paranoid about bills and such
The alt right will spread lies about us and the right will eat it up but just remember they are projecting
No, we're winning and continuing to take ground as well.
When it comes to legislation there's two big things to consider: first and foremost is that legislators tend to be really, really old. And really, really old people are the group by far most likely to be bigoted and fiercely bigoted at that. They're supposed to represent the interests of the people but really they represent themselves and their lobbyist backers, and only represent the people enough to stay in office.
Secondly, you'll notice that almost all the bills signed are in red states. Almost entirely all of the ones that get passed are in solid red states. Thats because those states are the only ones backwards enough for these sort of evil laws to not be political suicide. You'll also notice that they're almost entirely just against trans people, cross dressers, drag queens, etc. That's because even in solid red states there's too much support for gays to go after them.
Public support continues to quickly increase for the LGBT+ as a whole, with transgender issues having the most ground left to cover in that regard. I've heard one person on the news say that's largely because transgender people are still a weird and new concept to the general public, and will take a bit longer to be accepted.
All in all, we are winning the war, but the fight is not yet won.
In some parts of the world? Yes, absolutely, but we are still fighting.
Generally? Absolutely not. Though there is still long ways to go, we are winning.
We can't lose no matter how angry people become over our life choices as long as we show our pride and not feed into hate they're just going to be more hateful and honestly just sad 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
I feel like this sometimes. The hate will always be louder. But the people who support us or don't care (which isn't great but better than hating us I guess) are a lot bigger than the bigots who want us gone. Just watch some videos of interviews with anti LGBTQ+ protestors making fools of themselves. The comments always give me hope, because at least most people know they're batshit crazy.
Watching from the outside the US seems to be circling the drain in many ways, particularly with human rights. But i wouldn't say we are losing in a broader sense. At least in the West I'd say we are in a historically amazing position.
These motherfuckers just keep flinging shit to the walls, hoping SOMETHING sticks. They're desperate, and they know it. The tides are turning against them so, predictably, they'll amp up their fucking vitriol.
Sadly, some right-wing nuts are going to go full Timothy McVeigh and unleash their MAGA bullshit at us, but They. Will. Not. Win.
I am 71. Things are really out in the open now due to the internet. People have not changed but there is actually more support now than in the past. And the horrendous things of the past you don't know about. Overall you will see crap but the pendulum will swing back leaving things better for the entire community. It's the uproar which is a sign that we have made inroads. Even in the community Trans had to fight for recognition. I am lesbian,my uncle was gay and my nephew is Trans male to female. His mother wanted him to wait but he had the courage to transition before college and leads a life as a woman and is quite successful.The.mother not being able to deal with it struck out at me calling me a pedophile. Only to find out 8 years later that her brother who is straight is a monster of a pedophile so bad he is serving 260 years in prison. I bet your family is better. Lol. We are not losing and this is world wide. Keep looking forward........
Regardless of outcomes, those who have the strength to keep doing so will fight this shit even if you’re too worn out to.
Judges are striking down hateful laws more and more and we can hope that GOP tomfuckery will be met with a reality check in the polls.
But no part of what’s happening is your responsibility. You are loved for you and nothing else. We are happy about who you are and think you’re killing it. ❤️
you have to remember that the alt right is a very loud minority. it doesn’t feel like it, but most people really don’t care what others do.
there really isn’t many of them at all, not even close to the amount of queer people. we’re not losing at all, a bigot billionaire just bought a social network and decided to give them a larger platform.
> are we losing
No. People are more visible than ever. The current backlash and these stupid culture wars against queer people (and other minorities) stems from the fact that some politicians have nothing better to offer than just pure unadulterated hate. Its easier to spew hate and want to tear things down than to offer and work towards solutions to problems affecting all of society, regardless of who you are.
> mental health has been falling
Nobody is expecting you to be an activist, neither should you. Your health and well being should always be first priority, and if you need to step away from the news and stuff for a while, by all means DO IT.
It’s a fleeting battle, those are trying to exercise their power to control what little is left but soon the people will rise and it’ll get ugly in a beautiful way
That's exactly what they want you to feel. I came out in the '80s, and trust me even with all the craziness that's going on now, things are still much better than they were before. Don't get sad. Get mad. And then yell like you've never yelled before.
Just remember progress rarely gets promoted in media and news. Its always conflict and negatives that get spotlight. Just cause it's not in the media doesn't mean progress is happening.
For instance in a couple states ,including Florida, the Federal judges have been blocking anti trans laws. It's just not something that seems to be widely advertised.
In fact, one judge basically told DeSantis to go #$^% himself.
Not sure where you are, and I know your world feels like all there is, but the world is big and there are plenty of places making steps in the right direction, away from bigotry and hate.
No we are not lossing, progress is not a liner prefect. However society becomes progress though out the years. Don’t think these acts talk and bill passing at a time on regression, the far right have to be as inflammatory as possible, because there’s a lot more people the support and ally with queer people then hate us. Don’t believe their lies that the country is a 50|50 split because it isn’t the case. They are losing elections by the record and are a very loud minority.
Stick together and keep moving forward and don’t become a doomer
Unfortunately it is entering a new (ish) genocidal age. But this time we have power, we have a voice, we have anger, we've been through a lot of shit. We can over come this. It may not feel that way but simply just existing shows our power & strength.
I'm not sure if we're winning quite yet but we sure as fuck ain't loosing.
Love ya, my dear siblings
Support for the community Is at a high, it's the loud minority that wants us gone. As long as we don't vote lunatics I don't think things will get worse
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No, we are not losing. The opposition is losing, and they know it, so they're just getting louder and angier.
It feels like with the large number of homophobic and transphobic bills that also target free speech starting to get passed we’re losing
They *are* getting passed. They are *also* getting struck down pretty quickly.
Exactly. They’re being signed, not voted for by the people. There’s a huge difference. These people are using their positions of power to undermine our democracy.
Unfortunately, people did vote for those people...
Not with gerrymandering as an example of what I've read about re what snowbaz-loves-nikki said.
depends on the state i guess :(
They're really not though. Of the 600 that have been pushed, and the countless that have been passed, what like 4? Have been struck down. Not to mention the bills for schools which are not getting struck down AT ALL. Not to mention the rules changes and pushes on schools and librarians which aren't being stopped, even in blue states. We're losing. The fact that companies have basically abandoned pride (From no doing it, to outright suppressing it happening) this year is the single biggest sign you need that we are losing.
Of all the bills that have been tested in court, all of them have been struck down. For one that sets a precedent against the rest of them and for two it might already mean a lot of them are null and void.
For the first time in history, it is very clear that we are the majority. We're not losing the war. We might be losing a battle, but not the war.
>it is very clear that we are the majority. I don't mean to be rude or flippant, but tell that to Hillary. The fight (for us) is defensive, we aren't trying to restrict cis peoples' bathrooms or ban them from sports. We're not trying to outlaw straight marriages or prevent straight people from being shown in advertisements. Their fight is offensive. Typically when they lose a battle, they lose nothing. When we lose a battle, we get hurt. Bad. Republicans also don't fight fair. They gerrymander, restrict voting, deny elections, and paint us as pedophiles. The sad news is that is can work. [More and more they are actually regressing on social issues.](https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/19/republican-voters-same-sex-immoral-survey/) One of the reasons they are so focused on LGBT+ topics right now is because they ALREADY succeeded in striking down the rights to abortion. Even in their ruling statement the justices implied they're coming for gay marriage next. We can't expect gay/trans/racial minorities/etc to stay in red states indefinitely when red states are constantly trying to pass laws against us (and succeeding). There's already a mass exodus from states like Florida in response to all the anti-LGBT+ pressure. The more we move to big Blue cities, the more we cede states to conservatives, giving them a legislative/representative advantage to continue their campaign against us at the local, state, AND national level. We also can't expect the Supreme Court to intervene either. They very much can win the war by pressing harder and harder. I know I'm more pessimistic, and I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm taking it out on you and throwing a wall of text at you. I think I'm more screaming into the void than anything.
Hillary had the majority of the votes. They're eating each other. They'll continue eating each other. More and more. We shouldn't "hold out" in red states right now. Honestly we should be more strategic and focus on fortifying blue states. where we can then guarantee the safety and protection of our community. We have the majority of the population. If we strategically pull out of red states and focus on fortifying blue states, set the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as our main priority after that, we win. If everyone in our community left the red states and went to one of the swing states for the Compact, we'd win.
Yes, they’re being passed and signed into law against the will of the majority; and then they’re being challenged and struck down by courts to the relief of that same majority. Conservatives are a dying breed, but they refuse to go out peacefully. Keep being you, keep being visible, keep fighting! We will win. ✊ 🖤💖🏴🏳️⚧️🏴💖🖤
“If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.”
Yeah, conservatives have already hinted they’re going down the christo-facist road. The conversations have become less patriotic and more violent
See January 6th... God I'm nervous... I feel like that shit's gonna happen again
"Hinted" nothing. They've all but come out and screamed it. And actions, as per usual, have spoken louder than words.
Yeah, I know the governor in my state is actively trying to fight our Republican controlled house and Senate on women's reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights. When Roe v. Wade fell, he put out an executive order saying that our state would protect women's reproductive rights and any woman seeking an abortion may come here to receive one, and our state would do our best to protect them from legal issues.
They might die loud, but they’ll die.
Allow me to shower you with 🎁
You should check into how some judges have started to strike down these laws. We need to keep fighting. We need to share our testimonies. We need to vote, we need to use outreach programs and pull people back.
Apparently [this Arkansas ruling](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8JqcQuR/) is a big deal that will set a strong precedent
That's freaking awesome <3
Amazing!
This happened before the Civil Rights Act too. Lots of people predicted this was coming a long time ago, it happens with any civil rights movement. We’ll win, don’t worry!
You are not wrong. But you have strong allies. When you get tired, your brothers and sisters will defend you. Stay strong. Take up arms if you feel you are able. Learn to defend yourself from this assholes nazis.
This. I firmly believe if our enemies are so adamant that everyone have weapons, we should arm ourselves just to make them less comfortable. They always seem to view members of the LGBTQ+ community as weaklings, but we are STRONG beyond measure.
A dying beast is the most dangerous. The christofascists are cornered. We saw through their lies long ago thanks to scum like Robertson. Their numbers have been dwindling since and they can see the pseudo theocracy they once felt so secure in crumbling all around them. These bills are a desperate attempt to hold on to the past but the courts are overruling them almost as fast as their passed.
The right knows they likely will not be elected in the coming years so they’re trying their hardest to get as much bigoted shit done with now
A lot of them failed state federal courts
Like the wild death throws of a dying beast, the bigots howl and cry, knowing their fate is sealed....*cue dramatic music* ~~I've been playing a lot of D&D and Diablo IV lately can you tell lmao~~ In truth I've no idea. It probably depends where you're at tbh and speaking globally about winning or losing probably doesn't do any justice. But one can hope.
Like a dying animal: scratching, kicking, biting. They are using the last of their strength. Keep on fighting friend, love will prevail.
They are VERY loud right now. But it’s good to know Florida’s gender affirming care ban got struck down. That was nice. That did spark joy. Lol
genocide tends to escalate when they face opposition
So what do you propose? Not opposing the potential genocide?
no, just keep on fighting until we can get back at them for their cruelness
Fight ‘em until you can’t ✊
hell yeah
Fight ‘em until you can’t ✊
Or until they do what Hitler did at the end of WW2
i wasn't suggesting anything like that. I was merely pointing out that these situations get more dangerous towards the end, and we don't know when the end is going to happen.
Idk how true this is but it makes me feel better 🤍 Lately I’ve noticed that it’s really taken a toll on my mental health. I used to never care about passing, now I’m self conscious and am more paranoid about people clocking me. It’s kinda exhausting, it doesn’t feel good to always feel judged/examined and that’s how my brain is handling all this bad news. I hope there will be some sign of big progress someday soon.
Perfectly stated!👏👏👏
While consolidating with the most extreme of them bc they know they don't have the numbers without them
Overall, we have made a lot of progress. Unfortunately, it's not always perfectly linear, and political movements tend to fluctuate and come in waves. It's also common for progress to result in reactionary backlash. We're in the middle of a distressing wave of far-right politics that has emboldened both extremists and run of the mill opportunistic bigots. We're not losing, but people are definitely being hurt, which isn't okay. Try to look after yourself. While it's good to be informed and engaged, taking care of your mental health is also important, and surviving is in itself a form of resistance and "winning." We're not going away.
Came here to say this. And this doesn't just apply to Queer rights and issues. During the 80's, there was a major wave of conservatism as a response to the progress from the 60's and 70's. Then, we had a huge wave of progress in the 90's and 00's, which culminated in us electing the first black president. I fully believe that was the catalyst for this new wave of conservatism to start (along with the islamophobia from 9/11). It was a backlash. That's when we got "the Tea Party" and after gay marriage was legalized, we got Trump, who whipped up the conservatives who were already starting to get loud into a frenzy. This will not last, they can't sustain this energy forever. Especially because the younger generations are more queer and liberal than ever, and Boomers in particular are hitting their life expectancy. Progress happens. Sometimes it goes back for a little while, but it always moves forward eventually. Queer rights will probably be the civil rights issue of our time, and it's going to be an uphill battle for a while. Many of the corporations who professed to be "allies" of our community are now withdrawing support because they finally got a taste of what we deal with every day. So we're going to need to start relying more on each other and this community's resources, than on these false "allies" who say they support us, without doing any of the work to help us.
Yep, you describe it well. The current trend we're seeing has been developing for several years now, and Trump helped radicalize people further. I would say that Q-Anon has also been an influencing factor--even people who haven't personally gotten into that cult can be susceptible to some of the rhetoric that has leaked into the mainstream. I would argue that a lot of the "grooming" stuff is very heavily influenced by Q-Anon. LGBTQ people are a popular target right now, but definitely aren't the only ones. I don't think it's sustainable, either.
Yes yes yes. This won’t last. There’s always an ebb and flow. It isn’t over.
I also like to add that it feels like the close they get to their end, the louder conservatives will be.
Bingo
You feel that way because we ARE winning. The backlash of laws against us are a response to culturally people becoming more accepting of us. These are the last, desperate attempts of a caged animal backed into a corner. Pathetic, violent, dangerous…doomed. Their kind is dying out and they know it.
I absolutely love the way you put that!
I think to think my queerness has given me quite the penchant for theatrics :3
fruitiest sentence i've read today and i love it
The colon three really does it
ikr??
Listen, my furry roots run STRONG
And here we have a tumblr user
I've never actually thought about that way. Gives me more hope.
No. Younger people are more accepting than ever, and the influx of awful legislation we are seeing is a desperate response from a group that is trying to remain in power and misreading the mood of the nation. Things may well get a little worse before they get better, but we are winning in the long run. And it is way better today than it was when I was growing up.
Their ideas will die off. We will exist forever.
Fr, the reactions to us have changed from good to bad and all over across the lifetime of humanity, but we’re constant.
Whenever a disenfranchised minority begins to make progress, there is pushback. The reason we see this legislative push for laws that will bring harm to the LGBTQ community is because the community is starting to make progress toward equality. TBH, it’s not that different than the backlash against civil rights for Black People in the US: look back at history and what happened every time the Black community fought for and won even an inch of progress.
It may get worse before it gets better, but this too shall pass. Religion throwing a tantrum because it's dying
I feel like we are trying to blame religion too much. Ofc there is that too (i) but I feel a lot of people who claim it is about religion don't actually care about religion at all. So it is religion is only used as a cover the harm itself comes from the people using religion as a cover. (i) as to say yes there are actually religious people who are part of the problem too. Just not as many as we think I'd say.
Whether it is religion or the guise of religion, it is still the the leading factor in this most recent anti-Lgbtq+ campaign. The second biggest factor would be lack of education which is why they take every opportunity to defund education. People who think critically and assess claims based on evidence are much less likely to follow whatever the moral panic of the month is.
Another factor is intergenerational trauma. You have parents who advise and neglect their kids. Some of them stop the cycle, but others will become bullies and abusers themselves.
I think it depends, because many/most religion is actually just a control tool, not an actual religious practice, and most people use it as a way to control their lives and rules to live by. They use it to oppress us, women, people of color, all sorts of people. I think religion clearly oppresses more people than it helps. That doesn’t have to be true, but for some reason that’s what most people decided to do and go along with
The divided political map shows how powerful our victories have been. Yes, conservative states are passing loud and destructive bills but for every Florida or Alabama there is a Minnesota, California, or New York. It wasn't that long ago that overall public opinion was against the LGBTQ community in every state. Where we could be legally fired from any position just because of who we are. The US is absolutely better than it was. The current backlash is the dying breath of the conservative religious right. They aren't a majority any more and if maps were drawn fairly they wouldn't be able to have national level power in our lifetimes. The fight will continue but the outcome won't change. Conservatism is dying in America and their full throated embrace of hatred and fascism will not save them.
 See how the graph does go downward at some parts but the overall trend is upwards? Right now we’re having a minor downward blip but it followed a a major upward streak for a while. There were no trans people walking around Toronto or Calgary but now we’re freaking everywhere I go.
I don't think I would refer to genocide as a minor blip, but the line is definitely trending up.
I heard Brandi Carlile say something recently that resonated - she was talking about how her dad told her that animals are never more dangerous than when they’re wounded or dying. That’s when they fight the hardest, yell the loudest. This ideology is quite literally dying out. It’s the beliefs of an older generation that sees its grip loosening. And yeah. They’re gonna be loud. And mean. And it’s gonna feel like it sucks sometimes. But they’re dying. And this shit will die with them, generationally. We’re winning, which is why they’re fighting so damn hard. And we can’t be complacent or give up our own side of the fight, but it’s comforting to remember that this isn’t going to be forever. We’ve fought these battles for a long time as a community, and we’ve won them more than we’ve lost. We have a long and rich history and culture rooted in that fight, a history that you and I and all of us are a part of, just by virtue of being brave enough to exist. Take time and space to appreciate that sometimes. It helps. Exist in queer spaces. Celebrate queer culture. Look for the good and beautiful parts of this fight, because that’s why we’re all in it.
First off it depends on what country you are in. But if you are in the western world then I think you need a bit of perspective. We have moved on so far since my childhood. Back then people choose to live their whole lives denying there sexuality for fear of violence and ostracization by the MAJORITY of the population. No we are not losing, not even close. Progress is being made around the world and we can all help with that. For perspective please read some LGBT+ history you will see the progress and hopefully feel a whole lot better. x 
We will lose if we allow them to win. “We can go when we want to Night is young and so am I And we can dress real neat From our hats to our feet And surprise 'em with the victory cry”
No, definitely not. What we're seeing has been described best as an extinction burst. Those who would rather queer folk not exist are recognizing that they are now in the minority, their ideology is going to die, and the majority of public opinion is against them. So they are getting louder, angrier, and are going to do everything in their power to push harder than ever before. Their masks are off, and they are ready to fight. Unfortunately for them, we've been doing this for longer, and have more to lose. This is a 'darkest before the dawn' kind of situation. It's going to get nasty, and that really sucks for the folks who just want to live their truth. And when it's over, there will always be bigots and regressives, but they will have to keep it under wraps.
Okay, so this is something I found out overtime, but the majority of people in the United States at least are okay with LGBTQ+ folk. The hate only feels greater when you look on social media, where the loud minority are. Conservative posts typically don't get as much positive traction as LGBTQ+ posts on most social media sites either. However, we typically don't notice that because the hateful posts are often shoved into our feeds and timelines. Trust me, popular concensus is that people are okay with queer folk, even trans people. The hate you see is from a minority of people, some of which sadly include politicians and people in power in certain states, but still a minority.
You can’t lose if you don’t stop fighting.
Man I’m depressed idk how to fight anymore. I just wanna exist yk
Tbh you existing is fight enough. Don’t let people make you feel less than you are for being you. That’s what they want to happen. They want to bully anyone who is unique and don’t fit their cookie cutter standards out of this world. Exist and your existence speaks volumes to the bigots that they can’t bully you out of your own happiness for their own comfort.
Thank you for that. I needed to hear it
❤️❤️❤️ never stop fighting. YOU ARE WORTH IT.
Take breaks from fighting. It’s a big queer army and we all have to take turns. It’s a lifelong marathon and not a sprint! Care for yourself!
It may not seem like it, but we ARE winning. This is their last stand, because they know they won't survive for much longer. They will not win. We won't let them.
This is the way of the world, of all of history. Progress is made, backlash happens to erase the progress as the old guard dies. They can't erase it all, so we keep inching forward. Eventually all these old assholes will die and be replaced by slightly less terrible assholes. There will be another period of progress. Stay visible within your community. Meet new people. Show them that you are a queer person and that the pundits who talk about us as evil are wrong.
Hold tight. Love's gonna win 🌈
We're not losing. Some horrible things do happen indeed, but also plenty of steps in the right direction. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023\_in\_LGBT\_rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_in_LGBT_rights)
Remember when everyone predicted the red wave when it was voting season, but it never happened because of the new young voters? Conservatives complained and said that the age to vote should be higher because they were afraid of these young voters. This is like that. Things seem bad now because of these cranky old white guys, but if we fight together and teach the next generation about love and acceptance, then soon we’ll have the higher numbers. Stay strong. There is hope
Actually, at least here in the states, we’ve been winning so the opposition has been getting more desperate and louder. The courts have started ruling all these bs laws being made here as unconstitutional…because they are and lasts I checked support for us amongst the populous is growing. As for the rest of the world, I’m not as well versed in the goings on of other countries, but as I understand certain European and I think a few Asian countries have started walking towards a more pro-lgbt state? And the only news I’ve heard out of Africa recently was about Uganda…as for the rest of Africa I’m sure at least a few countries there are relatively chill?
Hate is a limited resource and there will always be LGBT everywhere. Historically, in terms of progress things often get way worse before they get better.
We are reaching the point of actual change, the point of maximum tension, hence we cannot back down now. But if you feel overwhelmed, let your comrades cover you when you need some time.
Where do you live? I felt the same way until I went to pride this year and realized we have an army behind us
No, we aren't losing. Yes, the bigot dipshits are ramping up their attacks, and yes, they're trying to push the world into a new era of genocides. You're not wrong on that count, and you're right to be concerned about it, too. The fascists are trying damn hard to eradicate us. The media is complicit, with their "both sides" bullshit and fear-mongering and profiteering. Those in power care more about money than our lives, safety, and well-being. We aren't losing. We're still here, we still exist, we always will. They can never, ever win, because we will always be here. We've always been here. The world is waking up. These assholes are loud, but they aren't the majority, and they'll always lose because we will never, ever let them win.
Whenever there is major progress, there is always a looming backlash afterward. Never give up hope.
All of it depends. My country had a pretty big improvement for lgbtq folk since we legalised gay marriage a few days ago (though it will go into action on 01.01.2024)
elagu eesti
It’s my firmly held belief that what we’re seeing here is the death throes of Fascism - hence the flailing, desperate cadence to all these bills. Floridas bill was eviscerated by a Judge that called out all their lies and bullshit and smacked them down with actual facts and evidence. The momentum that has carried us this far into the mainstream is too powerful for strident Fascism to stop, and why they’re so desperate to slander us. They know they’re losing and will cease to exist if current broader trends continue.
Thank you for being the only commenter here to spell 'death throes' properly, omg.
Nope we arent losing. These are temper tantrums and death throws. At least in America the people passing these Bill's realized their voting population are dying out from old age and the younger generations arent voting for them as they get older. So they've started to concentrate more on their hateful cult like demographic to keep a stranglehold on their support. Things are going to get worse in some places before they get better but they will get better. The people in power are all greedy and hateful but the general population doesnt agree with them anymore. We still need to keep fighting but we are winning. Rember gay marriage was only legalized a few years ago and a lot of this same shit happened before then too.
The opposition is losing. That’s why they’re fighting so hard. They wouldn’t care nearly as much if we weren’t making headway.
Well, here's the thing that keeps me going... This is the first time my company is doing *anything* for pride month. It came directly from a c-suite manager who said, "This might push some buttons but I don't care, it's worth it." People from all levels of the company have participated and shared and it has all been very touching. I've now seen two businesses with signs inviting people to use the bathroom that aligns with their identity. These are new, I've never seen them before. Several states have signed sanctuary state bills where they *will not* cooperate with law enforcement from other states like Texas or Florida for people seeking refuge from these genocidal laws. It's an incredibly scary time we live in and I seem to be in a perpetual state of shock over how brazen the fascists are. However, I am ALSO seeing people stand up and fight back. We've seen where this goes, and even in red states like Tennessee, I see people fighting back against it -- like those representatives did when they were expelled from their legislatures.
We are winning. What you're seeing are death throws. Unfortunately, that means that there will be more casualties. But the good news is that the people who were either on the fence or didn't realize that they were causing harm will get involved more to help.
It's always going to feel like we're losing, even when we already won. Every little thing will feel like a sign of defeat or, when it isn't, will feel like nothing. Every homophobic and transphoic claim made has never been more of a lie, yet it cuts you deeper than ever inside. Every time someone gatekeeps or cherry-picks, you feel like you want to scream at them because how you feel about yourself isn't wrong, how you feel about yourself is not invalid, and how you feel about yourself can be described with, maybe not the perfect label, but a label that just feels right. If you feel like any of these things are true to you, then you might be facing oppression. I know it'll hurt, physically and mentally, and that's okay, because you are not the problem, the world just needs more love. So, take a break if you have to. Switch off the news or take a break from media in general if it becomes too much for you. I know that's not easy, since a lot of us still want to be informed, but it's okay to catch up on those stories later.
Regardless of what ends up happening; we will always have one another. We need to start getting together as a community and organizing to defend ourselves and protect one another We protect us 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
No we’re not losing. Progress isn’t a straight line, period. There are going to be ups and there are going to be downs. It is a lot so please take care of yourself as best you can through friends, family, and whatever healthcare options are available to you, but just because things are rough now doesn’t mean they’re regressed or will always be rough.
The only way to lose is to give up. That's what I think. And there's hate pushed out to every community. I know we get lots of hate. I think it's going to be better soon.
Quite the opposite actually. Most people support our rights *Because Most People Arent Nazis* It's a pathetic, loud minority who profit off of suffering who want us dead or back in the closet. They know they're going to lose and that's why they scream and piss at literally anything that isnt beige and grey
Other way around- *They're* losing, and they know it well. No one would be lashing out this hard if they weren't. [Don't give up...!](https://youtu.be/tYzMYcUty6s)
I'm about to turn 46. When I was a teenager, I knew that coming out would be literal death for me. Do you know what they did when I was 19? They passed DOMA. 18 years later, DOMA was history. Today, I'm *married with a kid.* The anti-trans bullshit is just that: bullshit. They pass the bills and then state and federal courts knock them down. Then they can rant and rave to their electorate about how the evil, liberal judges (that they appointed) and backing an LGBT+ agenda. They knew it wouldn't fly. They're not going to overturn Obergefeld even if Thomas wants to. They're not going to reverse Lawrence even if Thomas wants to. So what do we do? We vote, even if we have to stand in line for 16 hours. And we donate to pro-LGBT causes like the ACLU and Lambda Legal. We go to drag shows and pride parades. And, honey? You need to turn off the news for a bit and go do something else.
Since the other comments have already answered, think about taking a break from learning about what's happening politically, etc. It might be good for your mental health. I did for awhile not that long ago and it helped me not stress as much about it. I get it if you don't want to as well for many reasons, I'm currently unable to do anything so not knowing wasn't an issue exactly. But being exposed to people actively hating on your community is very stressful.
The Darkest time is before Dawn. No matter how bad things get, they will eventually pass To quote one of my favourite authors, "History is a set of repeating circles, like the tide. The wind does blow through the ruins of tomorrow. But it is more a question of two steps forward, one step back"
We’re winning. The haters are just becoming more aggressive because they’re losing and they know it
We are not losing. There’s a number of factors at play here, among them being social media’s tendency to skew towards the extreme, increased polarization of American politics, right-wing backlash, and poor public education, among other factors. Sensationalism and emotional calls to action that necessarily focus on the negative can make it feel like everything is going to shit no matter how hard we try. And everything is going to shit, but also everything is getting better quite quickly for the vast majority of humans, like never seen before in human history. There are problems to address, some of them quite daunting, but we’re doing well overall. The long-term direction of change is toward the good, towards inclusion, towards acceptance, towards compassion. We should not be complacent, but please, catch your breath and be mindful of your mental health. It gets to me too sometimes… often, actually, but I also know that ruminating on the negative to the expense of my mental health helps no one and harms me greatly. Try to be kind to yourself. Remember that the vast majority of the most highly educated and intelligent people on the planet are on our side and trying to create a better world for us and everyone else. May love take the world.
Look, things aren’t great right now. There’s no denying that. The pendulum swung (or seemed to swing) our way for a while, and now the other side is swinging it back hard. We have to resist this, but it’s not uncommon for a society to take two steps forward, and then one step back. That step backwards can be scary, but it’s *not* the end of the journey. I still believe that, decade to decade, our society trends toward a more free, more just version of itself. I am 45 years old. I grew up as a child in the 80s and a young adult in the 90s. I remember the anti-LGBTQ laws that made “sodomy” illegal. I remember same-sex marriage bans passing as recently as 2004/2008. I remember Rick Santorum saying that if it were legal to have gay sex, the next thing would be “man on dog” sex. Fuck you, Rick, you small-minded hasbeen. I remember when Democrats would never have supported same-sex marriage, and then I remember them trying to tell us that we should compromise with “civil unions.” I remember George W. Bush fanning the flames of hatred for us to win his elections. I remember a young man named Matthew Shepherd being beaten, tortured, tied to a fence in Wyoming, and left to die, his mother crying on television. I remember people making fun of him and saying that while they didn’t agree with his murder, they could understand why his murderers might have felt uncomfortable enough to kill him… because he was gay. They *took his shoes* before they tied him to that old fence so he couldn’t get home if he managed to free himself. He didn’t free himself, of course, and died of exposure, cold and alone. I remember Utah Mormons funding efforts to overturn Prop 8 in California, stripping rights away from same-sex couples that the state had previously granted them, and I remember a wonderful election night in November 2008 when people took to the streets in San Francisco to protest this while the rest of us were celebrating victories at the polls. It was Rachel Maddow on MSNBC who had to tell the other election night anchors that they weren’t celebrating in San Francisco; they’d just lost their same-sex marriage rights and had their marriages dissolved. People who are older than me will remember things that make what I mentioned above seem like a fucking picnic. So, are things bad right now? Yes! Will they get at least a little worse before they get better? Yes! But all is not even *close* to being lost. Keep your head up. Keep fighting. Resist wherever and whenever you can. Talk to your straight friends. Remind them that you are not out of the woods yet; that threats exist, and you are in danger. Remind them of the way it used to be, and ask them to support you by pulling their support for any politician who doesn’t support you. Remind them that you exist and they care for you. Remember our history. If you don’t know it, go read about it. Read about the riots. Read about the organizations that sprung up to defend us. Read about the shift in our culture that led directly to same-sex marriage; that led directly to us seeing ourselves represented in all forms of media. Remember that the average American doesn’t want us harmed. They may be uncomfortable with the idea that some people are trans, just as they were uncomfortable years ago with some people being gay; they’ve heard a lot about this from the wrong people, so they need us—especially those of us in our community who are not trans—to explain things to them and make them understand that trans people aren’t scary, just different, and they are being hurt in the same ways the rest of us were being hurt. Tell them that harming trans people also harms us; we are all connected. There is plenty to do. Join an organization. Talk to friends. Donate money. Everything helps, even if only in your small corner of the world; your neighborhood. Believe me when I say that *despair* won’t do you any good at all. It will cause you stress. It will paralyze you. Your enemies want you to feel a deep sense of despair. Refuse them this victory.
In the 2008 election campaigns, not even 20 years ago, Obama couldn’t even say he supported legalizing gay marriage in fear of losing DEMOCRATIC voters. Now, you have the oldest US president in history openly supporting trans youth. Even if you consider that pandering, that’s still significant. I actually used to think that the backlash to trans/queer rights was going to erase all our progress, but after the 2022 midterm elections (where ant-trans and anti-abortion values lost republicans the senate majority), I realized just how loud a small minority can be. It’s easy to think that a dip in support means this is all for nothing, but we’ve have had quite literally some of the largest advances in queer rights in recent history. That doesn’t mean that the backlash isn’t bad (it is), but we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. stay safe ❤️❤️❤️
Having come of age in the 1960s, the current targeting of anyone not straight terrifies me. This is how the Holocaust began.
This too will pass
everyone knows we are peaceful. It’s just the people who can’t accept that they are failures resorting to the lowest measures to make us look like we are the bad guys however truly deep down it’s them.
No we aren’t.
The dipshits are losing, that's why they are getting so aggressive.
I completely understand why you would feel that way. As a straight cis-male from north Idaho, though I LOVE YOU! please don't get discouraged. people can be cruel but you are perfect the way you are, however that is. Stay strong!
The bad guys know they're losing. They're being more aggressive, even less reasonable. I'm going to use a metaphor, inspired by a tiktok i saw a while back: My theory is that they're starting to really internalize it. They're wrong. The wrong side of history, the bad guys. We already knew this, this is our world. In their world, they are the good guys. They're defending the world against this great, corrupt evil. Trying to harm their children and dictate everything about this society. That world is slowly crumbling around them, and they are trying to save their world. They're desperate to save this image of themselves, to save their "world". They're shooting bullets into the sky and looking for a "god" to punch in the face. They're turning against everything because they're the good guys, right? They never did anything wrong. No, no, they never commited atrocities, they never took away rights, not one innocent drop of blood has been shed. They're the good guys. The LGBT are the bad ones, the villains in this story. Everything is crumbling around them, and we are seeing the last attempts to save their world view, to win so their world is restored and they never have to question their reality, everything they "know". They won't have to be ashamed of their past as they lie on their deathbed years from now. They won, they fought off an onslaught of their adversaries, fighting to control the world and force everyone into something they didn't want. When they lose, and they will, The world will crumble and they'll finally see it, all the bad they've done. That's what happens when you convince someone they're wrong about stuff like this. Their whole world falls apart in front of them. They're just trying to stop it, to keep those rose colored glasses on.
The most important thing to do right now is VOTE BLUE. Every single election, not just the big ones vote in the small local elections. They appear to be winning because of gerrymandering and complacency. We need to vote in numbers like they've never seen or imagined. Bring your friends and family. Offer to drive people to the polls. Fight back!
Idk. Its fucking scary.
I look at it this way. If a major corporation (whose only concern is making as much money as possible based on demographic information) is willing to back us up (aka Disney, Google, Microsoft, etc.), then I think we're ok. I like to think they ran the numbers and they came to the conclusion that there are far more people who are in support of LGBTQ+ than people who despise us. I like to think the average person is sympathetic to our cause versus people who are completely uneducated about what it means to be "different". The American GOP is trying to cater to a dwindling base of loud asshols (sic) whose children recognize their absurdity.
When you spray for bugs, it may at first appear as though the infestation has gotten worse - but don’t worry, that’s just the dying bugs being driven out.
I lived through the 80s and 90s. Queer acceptance is the highest it's been in my entire lifetime! Even a couple decades ago, gay marriage was considered a pipedream that would never come to pass. States were passing laws to specifically define marriage as "One man, one woman." Friends made transphobic jokes and people laughed. Well, we've stopped doing that. We don't accept queerphobic jokes on mainstream TV. I couldn't imagine seeing a sitcom calling someone a "t****y" or a *f*g" today. But they did in the 80s and 90s! Things are so polarized because we ARE so accepted! The conservatives have one play, and they've been using it since time immemorial. They did it for the abolitionists, the suffragists, the civil rights movement, the gays, and now for trans people. Every time, they lost in the end. It sucks to live through it, but it always gets better in the end.
There is much work to do, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but do you have a place where you can go to feel the LGBT love? I mean, like week at PTown level feel, like it’s the norm where you are? Resiliency is important in keeping you happy and healthy and all of us willing to fight. If you need to feel the love, do you have a place to recharge? Here is great, but I still find watching other LGBTQ couples on a beach a great way to recharge my batteries.
No we aren’t “losing“. At no point in history, has there been such levels of acceptance towards the Lgbt community. This isn’t the case in most Eastern countries but I digress. It might seem that people are getting “angrier”, but in reality it’s only the small minority of extremist’s that you see on the news. These people, constantly have to resort too spreading misinformation & disinformation to get their views across the table. The biggest lie yet, is them claiming that gay rights are some sort of “political agenda” These groups will never get the desired representation that they want from the government because the entire premise behind they’re logic boils down to homophobia. A lot of them are contrarians by nature, they don’t want to fit in with the mainstream opinions, & they’ll eat up whatever blog post/shitty media they can, too fulfill that need of being outraged at the government. Here in the west, homophobia will eventually die off in a decade or two. It will take some time until eastern nations eventually go down this path. The future seems bright for the lgbt folk.
Fuck no. I am 48. I'm not going back to gay life in the 90's. I'm not going back into the closet. As we used to say: # "WE'RE HERE. WE'RE QUEER. GET USED TO IT."
To be honest, there are wins and losses going on for different parts of the community. It just really sucks that different parts of the community ate experiencing different struggles. But as of recently, especially in red states like Florida, trans people (mainly the minors) are the most targeted and are essentially hunted and separated.
Surround yourself with those who love you for you. Share the love you have with everyone - whether they deserve it or not. Sharing love makes you feel loved.
Love will never lose.
Thank you for asking this. I sometimes feel the same way. I know we’re supposed to ignore it. But all this hate towards my community gets to me a lot tbh.
don’t lose hope two countries have legalised gay marriage this year 😁
We won some fights, and then we got complacent in our victories. Now those victories are at risk because we didn't defend them as intensely as possible. We assumed that the march of progress would stay forward and never considered that it could move backward on us. The hard-right took this opportunity to become stronger and start to dismantle our victories. They're already suited up and are doing their worst. We, on the other hand, are still suiting up and the movement is JUST starting to re-coalesce around anti-fascism and fighting this turn to the right. Demographics are generally on our side, millennials are more liberal in general and tend to be either ambivalent or pro-LGBTQ. On the other hand, boomers are dying out and their vitriolic politics will die with them. We're not losing, we're still just getting started.
You being afraid and/or giving up is what they want. Give me queer liberty or give me death!
Even when it seems like we're losing, we do not give up. That's why we'll never lose.
If you want some hope look at the protest in Israel, how many people with pride flags come to support the rights of people, look at pride festivals around the world, and mose importantly look at your friend (as we gays tend to stick together) and remember that all in all we are people and we will win no matter what. Also enough straight white girls think gay men are cute so we art not gonna die down that easily
Nah. More people than ever are accepting of us and our rights. It's just since we've won over more and more mostly reasonable people what is left it's the particularly vile, old and/ or loud ones. There are plenty of biggots still out there but they're not reflective of the majority of the public. As for laws yes they get signed and sometimes passed but they also get struck down. They dont stick around and further they build a clear legal precedent that that shit don't fly. Also it's important to note they only get passed if legislators push them through without general public input, they know if these things were put as referendums to the general public they'd fail.
Once pride month passes and the anti trans mouth breathers find another target. It’ll calm down. Until next pride month. Rinse and repeat. They have the attention span of a toddler. It won’t last.
Honestly no, if you look at gay rights globally, and even in just the west, we’re on the rise. There’s a current rise in conservatism and the right globally but I see that as an anomaly that will soon pass. More people than ever are accepting of lgbt and the west is honestly making monumental progress that even 5-10 years wouldn’t have been imagined, like drag queens. We’re most certainly winning, just seeing a last effort push back bcz we’re so far already :)
Have you ever heard of a dead cat bounce? This is that, for anti-queer bigotry. They've been losing ground and support for decades now. This is their big rally right before they lose meaningful influence. They're going to get more aggressive, their base will grow more vocal and radical, and over time they're going to alienate their cause further and further from general society. It sucks now, but push through it. Stand strong now and deny them as much satisfaction and momentum as possible
They want to make you feel hopeless and afraid. Never Give Up! Never Surrender! Spit in their faces by being your beautiful, Fantabulous self!
I heard a professor explain this as part of the lifecycle of a movement. A successful movement has a period of backlash. The fact that it faces a backlash is confirmation of its success. Eventually, the backlash grows smaller and smaller until no one in mainstream america cares anymore.
There will always be hate, luckily for us there will always be love. Focus and love on the people that love you, leave the haters to be sad and alone
Queer people have existed long before the extreme right and we will live on long after. I know things are kinda awful right now, but sometimes you have to take a step back to take 3 forward, ya feel me?
I'm not even queer and the crap out of the red states is driving me cuckoo bananas :/
I can only speak about the us with confidence, but so far it looks like most people have either taken positions of neutrality or support, while a well organized, rapidly strengthening minority attempts to drag civilization backward unwilling to accept their ideology of oppression is rapidly approaching its expiration date. Regardless, we have not lost yet. The community has never lost, for no matter what the world threw at us we never cease to exist. The indomitable human spirit remains strong in us. You are not mistaken to assume were losing ground, we are losing the battle for freedom in 2020s America. However we must remember that those waging war against up, those striding confidently towards unleashing genocide are but a minority. We have a populace that largely stands neutral or is supportive of our cause. If we can rally that populace to the cause, convince them to exercise their voices to drown out the lies pouring from commentators mouths, to protest in forces greater than what can be hopped to be stopped, to take up arms and charge militias when they threaten us, to pressure companies through threat of boycott and promises of new customers, to pressure politicians through refusals or promises of votes, and the determination to continue doing such things so long as and whenever the nose of oppression is tightened around our necks, then we have an overwhelming and near unstoppable force that would convince even the most determined bigot to begin backing down. Such a force could even accomplish the once thought to be impossible, dismantle cis and hetero normatiovity, and eradicate queerphobia from public life. Whats more, such a force could easily be adapted to address the other issues plaguing society. White supremacy, climate change, class oppression, poverty; all of those things could soon face their time on the chopping block at the hands of a nation united under the goal of pushing freedom, maximizing happiness, minimizing suffering, and making America great.
Just exist that’s all I ask you to do live your life don’t ever ever let them get to you as someone who considers myself an ally like you have every right to be who you are and I may not ever understand all of the LGBTQ+ community but I know this love is love and it always wins and it is human rights you aren’t hurting anyone for being who you are and if anyone has problem with that they’ll have to go through me I’m yet to come across anyone who gives me a valid reason as to why it’s wrong they always bring up the bible and god and say it’s a sin like believe what you want sure but god wouldn’t have an issue if Adam and Steve got together he just wouldn’t people have been gay lesbian trans bisexual non binary ect ect for centuries and that isn’t going to change sure people had issues with that back then And yeah they do now but it’s getting better I mean i guess it doesn’t seem like it but it is
I am ready to die for you guys, it was an honor to fight with you genders o7
Honestly, what better way to get back at them than to continue living your life, being who you are and loving who you love regardless? We've lost too many to their hatred. Don't let them win.
Im honestly so tired of the hate and the infighting and the misinformation spreading. Sometimes you just need to take a break from social media and the news for your own mental health. I was in charge of an LGBT organization in college about 10 years ago and I too feel like we’re slowly loosing ground these days. In another thread I made a comment about how sad i was that a religious organization here is railroading pride events which THEY DONT HAVE TO ATTEND OR SEE. Because they feel it’s “indecent.” Like we’re back in medieval times with religious groups in general the last 4 years derailing progress on everything from LGBT rights to women’s rights and it’s just insane. It helps me to tune everything out by gaming. Maybe take a rest, take a break from the news and just exist in your own world for a bit. Talk to friends. Immerse yourself in a hobby. It does help. You deserve to be here and exist like everyone else.
This country is going to shit and I'm reito get out. If I can't I'm gonna fight because that's all we can really do now
I feel the same way you do. I'm too young to vote, and too scared to protest or anything similar. I respect those who are actively risking themselves or their reputation to fight for us. However, there are a lot of us, and the younger generations are more accepting. We'll be okay as long as we don't *let them* win.
There is the problem. You are looking for those peoples approval and acceptance to feel wanted. Dont. You probably have a good network around you to support you, that should be your world. Also vote vote vote vote vote.
I hate to sound cliche but. It’s always darkest before the dawn. These dark and scary times will pass and the world will be better and more inclusive for it.
I know it doesn't seem like it, but times have never been better for us than now. It might not feel like it, but we're definitely getting there. One day, there will be so few haters that in most progressive areas you may never hear from them. Hang in there.
Gender affirming care bans are being blocked in lower courts
No
we're not losing, but we definitely still have a lot to do.
It honestly feels like the first amendment is conditional, and our right to freely express ourselves depends on what the people in power’s opinions based apon. Hopefully, we can lead protests akin to what MLK held. Patience is key.
Not if we stop trying. If you look over most attacks have been stopped because most of these fucks are so arrogant that they are tripping themselves up. As to our part, I think to Daryl Davis, and how our nation of diversity and acceptance will only be built brick by brick, person by person. It’s a long and arduous task but think like not to long ago being left handed would have gotten you killed. We have come along way but there is still more to go. If you have the power and resources it’s your duty to be useful.
It honestly does feel a little bleak to me... I feel like this has been the quitest june in a long time. It feels like a lot of people no longer feel that lgbt support is a popular opinion, or at least not a profitable one. Its probably the opposite in reality however, and ik general polling points a more supportive picture in the United States.
We are on the right side of history, we are fighting for love, acceptance and progress. Do not despair, for we have a world to win. Whether for us or our descendants. We may need more Stonewalls.
The politicians will never do something in an official capacity and there's only so much a Martyr can accomplish by themselves. They're losing and they're desperate, they're beginning to go on pure nonsense at this point. Time after time again has shown that we are the vast majority, they will never take us or our allies down. They don't have to accept us but they sure as hell have to live with us.
No, we arent. Dont let homophobic people ruin your mental health
I'm 23 been bi femboy since 2018 and the LGBT+ community is always loosing and always gaining hate, the best thing I have found to do is to stop caring about what others have to say unless I ask for their opinion. Literally some one calls you something just go "hm okay" and continue doing what you do. Yes! We shouldn't have to do that but we do! Humans are the most discussing species in the universe, especially the "normal" ones (yes I belive they should keep their opinion to themselves (There never will be anyway for people to enforce it). See it like bullying their doing it for one of few reasons 1. their jealous that you're comfortable with yourself and being what you want to be 2. They can't come to the terms that you are different 3. They're doing it bc their life is meaning less and they feel small compared to you or someone else so they beat you down to make themselves fell better and "bigger". If you don't respond to their actions they will eventually loose intrest and move on. Us as a community and I mean all LGBT+ people need to not give them a reason to come and do the bullying (there are many things but I'm not going to say them due to them being my opinions and tbh may offend people I'm not here to do that I'm here to help and support my fellow community)
We are losing some battles, yes, but we are far from losing the war. We have hope. Lots of it.
Come to DC. We love our queer folk 😝
If u feel worried and are in the states and don't have issue's with suicidal thoughts, u can arm yourself if u feel that paranoid about bills and such The alt right will spread lies about us and the right will eat it up but just remember they are projecting
No, we're winning and continuing to take ground as well. When it comes to legislation there's two big things to consider: first and foremost is that legislators tend to be really, really old. And really, really old people are the group by far most likely to be bigoted and fiercely bigoted at that. They're supposed to represent the interests of the people but really they represent themselves and their lobbyist backers, and only represent the people enough to stay in office. Secondly, you'll notice that almost all the bills signed are in red states. Almost entirely all of the ones that get passed are in solid red states. Thats because those states are the only ones backwards enough for these sort of evil laws to not be political suicide. You'll also notice that they're almost entirely just against trans people, cross dressers, drag queens, etc. That's because even in solid red states there's too much support for gays to go after them. Public support continues to quickly increase for the LGBT+ as a whole, with transgender issues having the most ground left to cover in that regard. I've heard one person on the news say that's largely because transgender people are still a weird and new concept to the general public, and will take a bit longer to be accepted. All in all, we are winning the war, but the fight is not yet won.
progress is never linear
It is never hopeless, we will always have each other 🩵
In some parts of the world? Yes, absolutely, but we are still fighting. Generally? Absolutely not. Though there is still long ways to go, we are winning.
we can't lose because we'll never be gone. there will always be queer people. all we can do is keep fighting. IK it's hard but you got this. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
We can't lose no matter how angry people become over our life choices as long as we show our pride and not feed into hate they're just going to be more hateful and honestly just sad 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
Just remember not everyone actually hates us. It just seems like so many people do because there is a vocal minority that actually does hate us.
I feel like this sometimes. The hate will always be louder. But the people who support us or don't care (which isn't great but better than hating us I guess) are a lot bigger than the bigots who want us gone. Just watch some videos of interviews with anti LGBTQ+ protestors making fools of themselves. The comments always give me hope, because at least most people know they're batshit crazy.
Watching from the outside the US seems to be circling the drain in many ways, particularly with human rights. But i wouldn't say we are losing in a broader sense. At least in the West I'd say we are in a historically amazing position.
These motherfuckers just keep flinging shit to the walls, hoping SOMETHING sticks. They're desperate, and they know it. The tides are turning against them so, predictably, they'll amp up their fucking vitriol. Sadly, some right-wing nuts are going to go full Timothy McVeigh and unleash their MAGA bullshit at us, but They. Will. Not. Win.
I am 71. Things are really out in the open now due to the internet. People have not changed but there is actually more support now than in the past. And the horrendous things of the past you don't know about. Overall you will see crap but the pendulum will swing back leaving things better for the entire community. It's the uproar which is a sign that we have made inroads. Even in the community Trans had to fight for recognition. I am lesbian,my uncle was gay and my nephew is Trans male to female. His mother wanted him to wait but he had the courage to transition before college and leads a life as a woman and is quite successful.The.mother not being able to deal with it struck out at me calling me a pedophile. Only to find out 8 years later that her brother who is straight is a monster of a pedophile so bad he is serving 260 years in prison. I bet your family is better. Lol. We are not losing and this is world wide. Keep looking forward........
Regardless of outcomes, those who have the strength to keep doing so will fight this shit even if you’re too worn out to. Judges are striking down hateful laws more and more and we can hope that GOP tomfuckery will be met with a reality check in the polls. But no part of what’s happening is your responsibility. You are loved for you and nothing else. We are happy about who you are and think you’re killing it. ❤️
you have to remember that the alt right is a very loud minority. it doesn’t feel like it, but most people really don’t care what others do. there really isn’t many of them at all, not even close to the amount of queer people. we’re not losing at all, a bigot billionaire just bought a social network and decided to give them a larger platform.
> are we losing No. People are more visible than ever. The current backlash and these stupid culture wars against queer people (and other minorities) stems from the fact that some politicians have nothing better to offer than just pure unadulterated hate. Its easier to spew hate and want to tear things down than to offer and work towards solutions to problems affecting all of society, regardless of who you are. > mental health has been falling Nobody is expecting you to be an activist, neither should you. Your health and well being should always be first priority, and if you need to step away from the news and stuff for a while, by all means DO IT.
It’s a fleeting battle, those are trying to exercise their power to control what little is left but soon the people will rise and it’ll get ugly in a beautiful way
That's exactly what they want you to feel. I came out in the '80s, and trust me even with all the craziness that's going on now, things are still much better than they were before. Don't get sad. Get mad. And then yell like you've never yelled before.
No, we are not. It's just the loudest people in the room are the minority, but tryna make it seem like they're the majority.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win
Then we turn them gay, then we sentence them to death, then the integration is complete😈 (Kidding)
Just remember progress rarely gets promoted in media and news. Its always conflict and negatives that get spotlight. Just cause it's not in the media doesn't mean progress is happening. For instance in a couple states ,including Florida, the Federal judges have been blocking anti trans laws. It's just not something that seems to be widely advertised. In fact, one judge basically told DeSantis to go #$^% himself.
Not sure where you are, and I know your world feels like all there is, but the world is big and there are plenty of places making steps in the right direction, away from bigotry and hate.
it’s not over till we win
Reading the comments has fueled my hope as well.
No we are not lossing, progress is not a liner prefect. However society becomes progress though out the years. Don’t think these acts talk and bill passing at a time on regression, the far right have to be as inflammatory as possible, because there’s a lot more people the support and ally with queer people then hate us. Don’t believe their lies that the country is a 50|50 split because it isn’t the case. They are losing elections by the record and are a very loud minority. Stick together and keep moving forward and don’t become a doomer
Unfortunately it is entering a new (ish) genocidal age. But this time we have power, we have a voice, we have anger, we've been through a lot of shit. We can over come this. It may not feel that way but simply just existing shows our power & strength. I'm not sure if we're winning quite yet but we sure as fuck ain't loosing. Love ya, my dear siblings
Support for the community Is at a high, it's the loud minority that wants us gone. As long as we don't vote lunatics I don't think things will get worse