Feed posts
Thank you - to all the homophobic MAGA commenters who’ve recently discovered my profile, and show up regularly to point out that I’m gay …
Bless your hearts 
I know you acknowledging my gayness is supposed to be an insult. But after decades of living openly and proudly as a gay man, being called “gay” is hardly the devastating mic drop you imagine it is.
I know you acknowledging my gayness is supposed to be an insult. But after decades of living openly and proudly as a gay man, being called “gay” is hardly the devastating mic drop you imagine it is.In fact, it’s a reminder of how much I’ve survived to be able to say it proudly.
I’m a survivor of a violent homophobic attack—one where I genuinely believed I was going to die. I carry scars from that night, and I’ve lived with PTSD for 37 years.
I don’t tell you that for sympathy. I’m doing well. I’m thriving as an openly gay, liberal atheist in the Bible Belt.
I tell you because I want you to understand something:
Every label you think you’re throwing at me is a label I have earned.
Gay? Absolutely.
Queer? Sure.
Homo? Yep.
And all the uglier words you think are going to shame me? I can wear those, too, because I know what it cost my community to get here.
We bled for the right to live openly. We were beaten, rejected, murdered, kicked out of our homes, abandoned by families, and told that who we loved made us less human. People fought, marched, protested, died, and survived so that people like me could stand here today and say, without apology:
I am gay. I am proud. And you don't get to make that shameful for me.
Some LGBTQ+ people don't want to reclaim those words. I respect that completely. But I do reclaim them.
They're mine.
They belong to a history I survived.
So by all means, keep pointing out that I'm gay. Keep reminding me that I'm queer. Keep throwing your little insults at me.
You're not exposing me.
You're reminding me of who I am, what my community survived, and how damn proud I am to still be standing here.
And after everything I've survived?
Being gay isn't the insult.
It's the badge of honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment