Note on terminology: Those familiar with my work may notice that I most often write “LGBTQ” over just “LGBT,” where here I elect to the latter. This is not to deliberately exclude or slight people who use the word “queer” to describe their same-gender attraction or transness, but more-so to…

Content warning for (other) uncensored homophobic language. — Most understand “queer” as a synonym for “LGBT.” The word appears in virtually every place where “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” “transgender,” or just “LGBT” already is. Academia uses the word widely when discussing LGBT people and identity, and with shows like Queer Eye, it’s effectively an element of pop culture. The…

We cannot liberate ourselves from the binary by adding onto it — Declaring the existence of more than two genders has become a staple for countless nonbinary folks rightfully demanding respect, and there exist various battle cries for “smashing” or “breaking” or otherwise challenging our obviously limiting binary system. …

The lesbian and bisexual experiences with homophobic misogyny aren’t as divorced from each other as people claim — Considering that the word has “lesbo” (often a derogatory shorthand for “lesbian”) as its prefix, one would be inclined to understand a mode of discrimination named “lesbophobia” as exclusive to women who only experience attraction towards other women. However, when looking at the word’s functionality and how the behaviors the…

Apparently there’s a heated debate around this — It seems that many people aware of the asexual and aromantic demographics believe that if someone is a member of either, they’re inherently not straight, even if they’re exclusively attracted to the opposite gender — or, if that doesn’t apply to your gender identity, just exclusively attracted to different genders…

Originally titled “Femininity, Fetishization, and Faggotry: My Transmasculine Body and Its Expression” — AUTHOR’S NOTE: This piece is largely unedited from the time of writing (late 2019), aside from spelling corrections and such. Despite discrepancies between some of the content (like details about my identities; I’m obviously no longer gay, and I feel more flippant in my gender nowadays) and my current self…

I can’t escape labels. The world would return mine promptly even if I tried throwing them away—not like I’d try. We’ve entered an era where words used to describe aspects of one’s being are slowly but increasingly considered unnecessary and harmful, and people would rather use more general terms or…

The shared history between bisexual women and lesbian identity — and current reality of being a woman-loving woman — that many neglect — Some LGBTQ folks are slowly digging up our communities’ legacies as they seek to participate in them. Unfortunately, many remain uninformed about certain intracommunity conflicts and shared histories, leading to warped conceptions and how we should apply the past to the present. …

The lens with which most people view gender variance is woefully Eurocentric — The transgender pride flag consists of five stripes: two light blues, two baby pinks, and one white line in the middle. The last one represents nonbinary and transitioning individuals. But sometimes that white seems to hold a double meaning — what it means to be transgender almost always revolves around…