rebelbaze replied to your post: rebelbaze replied to your post: ...
on the day of the pulse shooting, you’re literally saying the equivalent of “at least people know about you to murder you”
I have not once said that the consequences of that visibility can be incredibly fucking dangerous! And the violence faced is abhorrent! It’s a real pretty strawman you’re making, but that’s all it is.
But visibility also means you have a voice. You have role models. You have resources. Since you don’t seem to understand ace erasure or ace invisibility, I’m gonna talk about gay and bi erasure and invisibility, and maybe you’ll understand it then.
Because guess what, that exists too. Gay, lesbian, bi and trans culture as it is in the US is not universal. If you go to, say, Japan, the culture is very different. In many ways, gay, bi and trans people can live relatively safe lives, with little chance of violence, because the general populace treat it like it doesn’t exist. Oh, they know it exists logically, but it wouldn’t happen to anyone they know.
So you can live your life safely. But it might take 30 or 40 years to realize you’re not straight because you had no info. You might think you’re never gonna find someone, because no-one is out. You can live your life just fine, without violence, but you live it in the closet.
Are you saying that because Japanese gay/bi/lesbian people are less likely to be beat up or face violence because they’re less visible, that they’re not oppressed? Of fucking course not. They’re living in a society where they don’t fit in because of their sexuality or gender identity, and that comes with a bunch of problems. Just because those problems manifest slightly differently doesn’t mean they’re not there.
And the invisibility and erasure that ace and aro people face works in a similar way. Invisibility is not a privilege. Both come with pros and cons, and neither is “better” than the other.
And there are countries where gay, lesbian, bi and trans people for the most part don’t live in fear. They can practice their sexuality or gender identity openly (sexuality more than gender identity, unfortunately), and 99.99% of the people don’t give a shit. Where the idea of conversion therapy is abhorrent, and the majority of the population scoffs at priests who refuse to wed same-sex couples.
But they still celebrate Pride, and they treat it more like a party. It’s kind of like how people celebrate Christmas, even if they’re mostly meh about Jesus or Christianity. Or celebrate 4th of July or whatever national holiday, without really caring all that much about the origin. I am not saying the roots of Pride aren’t important, because they are so incredibly important, but as I’ve said, events take on a life of their own, and after a while, a lot of people participate for the event itself, not for its origins.
I’ve only sporadically participated in my hometown Pride week, but I don’t think I heard mention of Pride’s origins once there.
