A single unified LGBTQ+ conversation

-hugs Konk- What's the issue?

Basically, there was a bunch of people talking about the elections and such in the subway next to me. I didn't want to make a scene or anything, so I just kept my mouth shut the whole time, although I couldn't really do anything else but listen in, furthering my anger. This guy was going on about that whole "Eh Hillary is much worse" rhetoric and saying "The only bad thing Trump does is say mean things" and pretty much slammed Hillary throughout the whole thing. He also said he thought the controversies about those tapes of Trump released recently were stupid because "All guys talk like that" and "It's just locker room talk" which is absolute bullshit if you ask me. At one point, he said he thinks Pence is a genius and he should be running for president, and there I was just standing there, hanging on to the pole with one hand and having a deeper understanding of this meme◊ with the other, screaming internally, all that rage stuff, and I notice as these conversations go on... No one there brought up LGBT rights at all. Not when discussing the good/bad aspects of the candidates, not when Pence was brought up, nothing.

Then it hit me. It hit me like freaking bowling ball hits the pin formation when getting a strike.

They didn't know, didn't even think about, and probably didn't even care about what the candidates had in mind for the LGBT community. It finally struck me full force just how... Invisible and/or irrelevant we are to a massive chunk of society. It... Really pains me to realize and fully think about this. This almost upsets me more than when people are actively rallying to take away our rights. There is a massive percent of people who don't care or even care to think about us. Hell, some of the more dense homophobes/transphobes actually are more on the "uncaring" side, since they refuse to think about how it effects us. When people excuse their actions and say things like "It was not a gay and lesbian issue to me, it was an issue of faith" to excuse their bigotry, they're not thinking of us. They simply don't care.

And this all... Really upsets me.

It's weird how little LGBT issues have come up this election, Clinton gave a brief shoutout to them in the third debate when talking about the Supreme Court, but that's been it.

I know this feeling all too well... :/

Yeah, I'm so pissed LGBT rights weren't a topic during the debate. Clinton could have DESTROYED the dual-head monstrosity that is Trump-Pence in a debate about that.

Speaking of, in case anyone still wasn't sure on how bad they are

Well, I'm doing something that is either brilliant or stupid: doing a practise ersuasive text thing in English class on unisex bathrooms.

That sounds brilliant.

Yeah

IMO everyone will be happy if we had a male bathroom, a female bathroom and a bathroom for trans and NB folk to use if they want to.

edited 23rd Oct '16 7:27:49 PM by Psychedelicate

That sounds like a very good and most likely, informative idea.

Why yes, being segregated sounds wonderful.

Emphasis on "if they want to". Although I did rethink that and... yeah, not as grand an idea as I thought. Hmm...

Would you believe that people oppose the idea of unisex bathrooms because of the smell?

Trump and Pence:

• oppose GSRM rights
• pose in a vaguely homoerotic picture

A lot of women like having a separate bathroom, as it lets them avoid creepy men.

And given some of the women I've encountered and heard of, the feeling flows both ways.

Hmm. So my original idea would work well for women concerned about creepy men and vice versa, and most nonbinary peeps, but not so well with trans peeps who don't wanna be segregated. Again, in this potential idea, trans peeps would not be forced to use the gender neutral bathroom - whichever one they want to use is up to them.

edited 23rd Oct '16 8:01:15 PM by Psychedelicate

I would make a joke but for some reason, I'm scared of women. And when women talk to me, I feel that they talk own to me.

It's also got the same problems as forcing trans people to use the toilets of their AAB gender (anyone who doesn't fit their assigned gender role enough runs the risk of being forced to use the "transgender" toilets).

Honestly, the best solution for everyone is to have male, female, and gender neutral bathrooms. If you identify as male, use the male one. If you identify as female, use the female one. If you identify as neither, or just want a gender neutral bathroom, use the neutral one.

That's exactly what I meant. I did not say anything about trans people needing to use the gender neutral bathroom because they're trans - if they feel uncomfortable with using the male or female bathrooms, they should be permitted to use the gender neutral one. If, say, a trans woman wishes to use the female bathroom, then that's totally fine. No one should kick her out and ask her to use the gender neutral bathroom.

Exactly. And while I understand that people have differing opinions on the subject, I also agree that three restrooms are the best option. It allows for nearly everyone to be comfortable and feel "safe". This isn`t a matter of "forcing trans people" or anyone into a restroom. It's a matter of giving individuals another option to suit their wants in terms of comfort for the restroom of their choosing.

Also, perhaps as an addendum, I am deeply supportive of having gender-neutral private bathrooms in smaller buildings which don't have the space or money for public bathrooms.

One example of of an instance where trans people may want to use the gender neutral bathroom is if they're closeted and/or haven't started transition and don't want to be questioned or bullied for going into the "wrong" bathroom, nor do they want to use the bathroom that pertains to their AAB.

edited 23rd Oct '16 8:39:12 PM by Psychedelicate

I feel like using a gender-neutral bathroom would become an admission of something anyway.

Sorry. >.<

For what?