Recently, I noticed a post on Instagram about how the pansexual identity is invalid. For reference, pansexual refers to someone who is attracted to people regardless of gender, and that is how I identify. Incensed, I read through the post. By the last slide, I was fuming. It is always disheartening to hear someone try to invalidate an aspect of your identity, but this was particularly painful as it came from a fellow member of the LGBTQ+ community. This person sought to push me off our common ground, to chop a few letters off the acronym, along with the people they represent.
I have heard the rationale from exclusionary LGBTQ+ folk (perhaps they would rather be referred to as LGT, or LGBT, or LGB) that we must narrow the community to gain acceptance from cisgender and heterosexual people. “We must be palatable,” they say, “we cannot all be accepted, some people just have to be left behind.” I resent this argument. In fact, the struggle for freedom must be inclusive, or we queer people will never attain equality.
With the time and effort that it took to create that Instagram post, which did nothing but fill me with bitter resentment, the account owner could have educated others about the struggles facing LGBTQ+ folks. They could have spoken out about hate crimes or housing insecurity. They could have denounced institutions that promote homophobia, or advocated abolishing conversion therapy, an incredibly harmful practice which is still legal in 30 states. They could have provided empowering content or non-heteronormative sex education, or even shared places to donate to LGBTQ+ people in need. Instead, they devoted their energy to attacking other people who likely face much of the same discrimination they do. How is this advancing the struggle for queer equality?
Some exclusionary folks have faced such struggles to get ahead that they fear jeopardizing their own position by letting others advance. We see this in the feminist movement as well: “trans-exclusionary radical feminists,” or TERFs, deny inclusion and respect to trans women (as well as nonbinary and gender non-conforming folks). This is due to transphobia and the fear that their presence will somehow detract from women’s rights. But by beating down fellow womxn because they do not fit a narrow paradigm, TERFs assume the role of the oppressor. They become no better than the men who have denied womxn equal rights for centuries. Besides, they waste precious time that could be spent working to reduce violent crime rates against womxn or remove barriers to education for womxn worldwide. Similarly, queer folks oppressing queer folks does nothing to advance LGBTQ+ rights.
The gatekeeping of social justice movements is useless and counterproductive. If the struggle for equity is a war, rather than just idling on the battlefield, groups are separating into factions, wasting ammunition, and harming one another. If LGBTQ+ folks want equity and acceptance, we must dissolve the systems of oppression that we face. To do this, we must have each other’s backs.