once u stop hating, mocking, or generally judging (quietly or out loud) your lgbtq+ peers for their identities/gender expressions that u for whatever reason don’t understand…
u will 100% be a happier, kinder, and prouder member of this community. legit. when i was a young teen, i used to think neopronouns were weird/fake, xenogenders were stupid, that you needed dysphoria to be trans, that trenders existed, etc… but i worked on understanding my peers and realized that i actually relate to them!
it feels so much better being kind! and understanding them could allow you to better understand yourself, because you won’t have these toxic notions that may be causing you to do/think things about yourself you wouldn’t otherwise.
like. it’s okay if you don’t understand, gender is hard! it’s confusing! it’s complex! but it costs you literally nothing to just be kind and respectful. as the adage goes, if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.
you aren’t being productive by being an asshole. you aren’t protecting the lgbtq+ community by being an asshole. you aren’t being an activist by being an asshole. you’re just being an asshole, and likely making people who already struggle with confidence in their gender hate themselves/their gender more.
be nice.
