Sure, “queer people aren’t trying to ‘recruit’ your kids” is a full sentence. But I think there’s a bit more nuance that can be put on it.

There’s a right-wing idea that queerness is contagious, like turning into a werewolf. But on the left, what we think is that some folks figure out they’re queer, and other folks figure out they’re not queer, and what they are doesn’t change, just how much they know about what they are. We’ve seen folks who had a miserable time trying to date women before realizing they’d rather date men, or who pushed themselves to date when they weren’t interested in romance at all, and our goal is to make it easier to avoid that. If you turn out to be straight and cis, all the more power to you! You know what you are because you had the chance to see what you’re not. If you’re bisexual, but you only date the opposite gender, that’s fine! We’re not trying to “fix” you. All we want is for people to understand themselves a little better.

The fact I am an atheist is inextricably linked to the fact I’m queer.

The general fact that a person is an atheist, and the general fact that a person is queer, have no inextricable links to other facts.

The above two statements are linked.

There’s no gatekeeping for atheists. You don’t have to be an atheist the “right” way. Anyone who’s willing to proclaim that there are no gods is welcome. In the same way, you can be queer and never have to worry if you’re too gay to be bi or too bi to be gay. Queer is for everyone who’s ever been bitched at by people who think “asexual” isn’t a valid orientation or want you to clarify what “genderfluid” means. I choose the communities whose members choose themselves, and I’m proud to be there.

I guess what I’m pushing at is that all the anti-capitalist stuff I see assumes the replacement for capitalism is closely linked tribal groups, and I tend to assume that the more linked people are, the more they’ll hate me for being different. I feel a lot safer in an environment where I’m valued for earning money, and will continue to be valued so long as the money comes in, than in an environment where the only thing protecting me is love, which can be conveniently discarded if someone doesn’t like that I’m queer.

WOW that’s so much more cynical and depressing than I thought I was capable of.

From another user’s deleted post that can no longer be reblogged:

“When we try frame our existence as once that needs to be justified or explained to cis women, we allow them to gradually build a narrative of themselves as a vulnerable group in comparison to us, when the reality shown by the experiences of so many trans feminine people is that trans women are, on every level, much more at danger in cis women’s presence than vice-versa. acting like we owe them something just allows them to further build up this narrative of themselves as the exploited group that gracefully allows us to exist due to the good of their hearts, rather than the reality that they’re an oppressor group that, like all oppressors group do, exploits and abuses us and only occasionally tolerates our presence in society.”

My original response to this post was unfair and mean-spirited, and for that I apologize. Instead, I want to explain where I’m coming from.

There’s this idea that’s spread around sometimes that “queer” is too broad of a term. If you can have queer sexuality, queer gender expression, and/or queer physical variance from the binaries of “male” and “female,” then basically anyone can claim to be queer if they want to be. The usual queer response is to try to set some boundaries, e.g. “het BDSM isn’t queer.” My response is “anyone can claim to be queer? That’s awesome!”

You can say that there are benefits to being a woman, or to being Native American. You can even say there are benefits to being poor, though I’d heavily disagree with that statement. But there’s no real benefit to calling yourself queer. Queer closes doors, but it’s not currently in a position to open them. That means if you call yourself queer, it’s because you want to be queer, and to find some solidarity with all of the other people who call themselves queer, too.

Queer is “anyone can wear the mask.” Queer is Let America Be America Again. Queer is looking at violence against gay men in Russia and Two-Spirits in Canada and finding empathy with both. Queer is a movement, and we’re always recruiting. All you need to do is care, and do what you can to help other queer people.

You can say that cis women oppress trans women, just as you can say that het trans women oppress bisexuals, or Caitlyn Jenner oppresses everyone. But I can’t help but think that this plays right into the hands of the people who think “wombyn” is a meaningful concept. I’d rather go the opposite direction. Take away “cis” and “trans” and just have “woman.” Take away “man” and “woman” and just have “person.” Let queerness sweep the planet until everyone is queer, and no one is, because we’ve developed enough empathy for different ways of being that a “queer” outgroup is no longer necessary.

Of course, this will inevitably end in a new outgroup of, IDK, otherkin or something. That’s when I’ll find a new term to express solidarity with otherkin. The struggle never ends!