Red and Blue make Purple

Anonymous asked:

Pride month isn't about celebrating who's oppressed the most, it's about everybody in the LGBT+ community, and it's about all of them equally. You can't exclude ace, aro, heteromantic aces and aro hetrosexuals just because you don't think they're "oppressed enough" (If this wasn't what you meant then I'm sorry but that is absolutely what it sounds like you're saying and that's incredibly wrong.)

kittenpawprints-deactivated2018 answered:

I mean that LGBT pride month was created for LGBT people to celebrate ourselves and be proud of the strength we all endure despite the endless homophobia and transphobia, which is especially violent and cruel. Pride month also serves as a period which we all come together and stand firm against those who refuse us rights such as marriage (which is now legal), refusal of jobs, murder, disowning, etc. It is specifically lesbian, gay, bisexual, any same gender attraction, and trans people experience. Not cis aroace people, not cis straight people who are graysexual, not cis straight people who are aromantic, etc.

It isn’t a matter of the LGBT community adding in cis aroace to this one month and then deciding to kick them out for not being oppressed enough, this inclusion of specifically LGBT people has been around for years and there’s a clear difference between the oppression trans and same gender attraction people face. Adding the A to the spectrum of having a sexuality that puts you in the minority doesn’t mean you suddenly experience the same stuff same gender attracted people and non cis people do. Ace people are part of the LGBTQA+ community, but not the LGBT community (which only seems to exist for these specific occasions) because there’s a clear difference in experience we go through.
Pride month isn’t a fight against straight heteromantic heterosexuals discriminating anyone different (which is a real issue that ace people have a part in), but it’s the celebration of those who have died and who have lived through the specific discrimination against sg attracted and trans people face. I can’t make this more clear.

It’s a kick in the face for people to be courageous and brave enough to celebrate this month, knowing there’s a distinct threat anywhere we go such as gay bars or parades or simply celebrating, and cis ace people shuck themselves in despite not experiencing oppression from same gender attraction or being non-cis.

However, all of this can still be true and Pride month can now mean something different. In that case, I would stand corrected. But it appears to me that the original intent of LGBT pride month still stands, so I’m gonna stand with that.

Edit: and I do want to state I know and acknowledge the discrimination and alienation ace people face, and it is very disheartening and horrible when people erase your identity or try to force you to have sex. However, this issue is arguably more a problem with sexual and romantic expectation which is not same gender attraction discrimination (homophobia)

astro-not-art

i never realized there was a difference between LGBT and LGBTQIA+ and i think that’s where a lot of the discourse comes from.

do aro/ace people belong in the community? aboslutely. without a doubt. because they still have a systematic world view working against them which commonly leads to harassment and general self-doubt. they are in no way just as privileged as cishets.

I always thought that pride was a celebration of all LGBTQ+ identities, however i also learned that it was made to honour the hard fight from which the community prevailed, which included violent and cruel discrimination.

so if we’re following that line of thinking, then it is in fact about who is more oppressed. but i don’t feel like we should operate that way anymore?

yes it is important to acknowledge those who started the movement and risked their lives fighting for their rights. but it’s also important to celebrate and show support for all LGBTQ+ identities. and i know it sounds like im all lives mattering this shit but here me out. we can do both.

honour the fight while celebrating the survivors. thank the LGBT community while also letting the LGBTQIA+ community know that they’re valid too and that they’re not broken or heartless or wrong. because yes aro/ace folks might not be actively discriminated against but theyre still systematically oppressed, and they deserve a moment to celebrate their identities and be validated.

and if they can’t do that at pride, then where?