I'm starting to realize that a lot of straight men in their thirties and forties aren't just good people, but actually stronger supporters and allies than many online personalities who dedicate themselves to being activists.
I know this sounds like a strange thing to realize; but, in my defense, a lot of straight men in their teens and twenties were complete shitheads when I was in my teens and twenties. Maybe people become more mature as they get older, or maybe the culture shifted. Both, probably.
Anyway, I'm not "a cishet apologist" or whatever, and I do think that safe spaces should probably be gated, but I've also grown extremely resistant to any strain of feminism or LGBTQ+ activism that defines itself by creating an enemy out of a broad category of people, "straight men" or otherwise.
Like, it seems as though every June for the past few years I've been subjected to a storm of opinion pieces about how offensive it is to see rainbow flag merch right inside the door at Target, as if Pride Month were a "seasonal display" like Halloween or Christmas, but fuck that. I hate capitalism as much as the next broke and disenfranchised queer, but I love going to the post office to mail out zines and saying "Good Morning" to the Very Straight Christian staffworker who's wearing a store-bought rainbow mask to show support for her teenage son, whom she tells me she's taking to his first Pride parade this summer. Fucking, just. Bless.
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Date: 2021-06-10 01:05 pm (UTC)I'm starting to realize that a lot of straight men in their thirties and forties aren't just good people, but actually stronger supporters and allies than many online personalities who dedicate themselves to being activists.
I know this sounds like a strange thing to realize; but, in my defense, a lot of straight men in their teens and twenties were complete shitheads when I was in my teens and twenties. Maybe people become more mature as they get older, or maybe the culture shifted. Both, probably.
Anyway, I'm not "a cishet apologist" or whatever, and I do think that safe spaces should probably be gated, but I've also grown extremely resistant to any strain of feminism or LGBTQ+ activism that defines itself by creating an enemy out of a broad category of people, "straight men" or otherwise.
Like, it seems as though every June for the past few years I've been subjected to a storm of opinion pieces about how offensive it is to see rainbow flag merch right inside the door at Target, as if Pride Month were a "seasonal display" like Halloween or Christmas, but fuck that. I hate capitalism as much as the next broke and disenfranchised queer, but I love going to the post office to mail out zines and saying "Good Morning" to the Very Straight Christian staffworker who's wearing a store-bought rainbow mask to show support for her teenage son, whom she tells me she's taking to his first Pride parade this summer. Fucking, just. Bless.
Anyway, #NotAllMen lol.