thinking about modern day, non-famous Hollanov for a fic that I am definitely NOT writing instead of focusing on the one I should work on and they are in queer environments but they are very much not Cool Rolemodel QueersTM.
like Shane is Gay. he goes to protests sometimes if his friends force him, but only if there is a quiet section, and he needs his earplugs and his emergency bag and it's not worth it for him. he doesn't know a lot about the community because it doesn't interest him that much. sure he knows what PrEP is, he watched Brokeback Mountain with Rose once, he has seen a few documentaries about Stonewall and the AIDS crisis but that's about it. he goes to queer events when his friends ask him to but he doesn't feel the need to seek out the queer community - he has his inner circle and is happy with that
Ilya is a bit more on the activist side but only because he hooked up with one guy he wanted to impress so he started volunteering and helping with protest signs and ended up liking it but it's very much not because he is driven to change the world and dismantle the cistem and patriarchy and fascism. (Sveta on the other hand...). he is a bit more well-versed in queer culture, especially when it has to do with performing and being provocative, and he becomes fashion-forward but more as a way to be a little shit and toe boundaries at first than to really bend the reality of gender. he likes queer events and the queer community but mostly because it's people and he likes the familiarity and the hugs and the pet names
