Being queer in 2023

Be it stereotypes within the community or peer pressure to come out of the closet, as a queer person, I've experienced a lot of these things first hand!

Being queer in 2023 is not as easy as it seems. Just like how every coin has two sides, being queer comes with its pros and cons! A lot of people are still ignorant, they don't want to respect others' boundaries and choices, and so many are still homophobic. It's been four years since article 377 has been abolished but those with an orthodox mentality don't make it easy for queer folks because of their conditioning that only accepts a relationship between a cishet man and cishet woman. That is how god has intended it, right? Living in a heteronormative society, hating on the LGBTQIA+ community seems like a side hobby for some since all they do is talk about us without coming from a place of knowledge. But is this where the hatred stops?

We talk about cishet people not accepting us for who we are but what about some stereotypes and discriminations we face within the community? We went from accepting one for who they are to judging them based on whether they're too femme or too masc, or if they fit into the criteria of how a queer person should look like in the first place! There are so many problems within the community that no one wants to talk about and hence go unnoticed. Sometimes there's also internalised homophobia that some haven't quite addressed and hence they tend to hate on people who are part of our community. Also the comparison between each others struggles and bullies have to be top-end of it!

Also Read: 4 underrated queer stories on Netflix that kept us busy this June!

Here are 7 problems we face within the community that no one talks about!

Not respecting one's pronouns

After fighting for our rights and making cishet people understand what pronouns really are and how to use them, sometimes people from the community don't respect them. I have come across people who won't refer to me as "them" and have the audacity to follow it up by saying that one can butcher one's pronouns if they are queer. Pronouns should be respected by everyone! There are no exceptions!

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The "you don't look queer" persona

When I first came out of the closet, I didn't know that there were two concepts: being a masc and being a femme, but I never cared to think if someone was too masc or too femme. Apparently some hate on others just because they are too much of something.

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Dating

Having a specific type when it comes to dating is totally fine because to each their own, right? But that also means respecting other peoples type and not hating on people who you don't find attractive. I didn't know there was a thing called biphobia until I experienced it first hand! Like how can you like the same gender as a bisexual person and still hate them?

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Differentiating people by their lifestyles

Some people from the community seem divided between those who come from lots of money and those who don't. This is something that gets very serious during pride events when rich queer people don't want to associate with others. We have literally divided our community into two and that is not settling!

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Hating on heterosexuals just because

As a community, we're the first ones to talk if someone even slightly puts a finger on us but how is it okay to hate on straight people? I mean hating a specific heterosexual person who is being homophobic? That's fine! But hating cishets altogether for that one person who was being rude to you? Now that's the energy we don't wanna channel in 2023!

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Disrespecting transgender people

Some people are bothered by their clapping and some are bothered by their appearance. If people bother us for reasons like these, then how are we any different from straight people who do the same thing?

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Peer pressure

Sometimes you cave in to peer pressure and think of coming out which might work for some people but some people literally get killed or kicked out of their homes over this! Some people in the community need to understand that coming out of the closet should not be a decision that's forced on a person! One needs to be ready before taking this step!

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Love everyone, accept everyone but most importantly, accept yourself for who you are.

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