Trump's desperation

[Emiliano]

They are.

It's rare to see gay couples period and in general. But when I do see gay couples, it's usually two white straight passing men.

I have never in my life seen a gay interracial couple or gay black couple, gay asian couple, unless they were celebrities or socialites hanging out in a wealthy or rich liaison or setting.

I'm saying the LGBT community wants us to support them and join with them in politics. When they never talk about the real issues.

When there are is so much racism in this community to people of color. How many of us do not have partners and live alone and all this gay marriage shit is just a endless dream.

All the gay POC and trans murders and shit.

How the only thing they have working against them is gay conversion therapy which is now banned on minors.

I don't know.

I've never been to LA so I don't know what its like there. But in NYC, there are all kind of gay couples. There are many, many different gay scenes. Diversity doesnt mean two black people and a latino in a room full of white people. I think it does take a big urban center to see that kind of stuff though, just because one, you need a diverse area to see diversity really represented, and two, urban areas tend to draw in more gay people that rural areas. Im surprised you dont see it in LA, because I always assumed it was more or less almost kind of maybe approaching being the west coast equivalent of NYC. But its also pretty clear to me that the two cities have two very different appeals, and in a lot of ways I think of LA as being a more shallow, more rigid to beauty standards, you know, ~*hollywood*~ kind of place.

And yeah, non white portrayals of gay couples are very limited in pop culture. But they do exist, and they are growing in number. I think this is an empowering time to be gay and to be a poc. Things are changing, information is being spread, authority and systems are being questioned, and people are speaking up and refusing to have their voices silenced.

And it might seem like this is getting off topic, but its these same issues - the growing number and influence and power of non white people in this country, the demanding of access to rights and privileges by gay people - these are the things that are terrifying a lot of people who support Trump, people who are nostalgic for a time when gay people stayed in the closet or were shamed, neighborhoods were cleanly and clearly segregated, and black and brown people kept their mouths shut and their eyes lowered. You may have your own reasons for not minding a Trump presidency, but a lot of his followers see him as the last chance for white supremacy. What do you think "Make America Great Again" means to them? When in America's history do you think America was great for people like us? Who fucking knows whats going on in Trump's mind - but the kind of people he promises to empower in his presidency... I dont think theres any question about what their vision of America looks like.

Yes its an uphill battle, and white standards of beauty are constantly being projected, and its easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to those and only being able to see where you fall short, how you are different, and how those differences put you at a disadvantage. But if you seek it out, there are other options. And sometimes when you look around and can't find a role model, or don't see yourself represented, it means that you have to step up and be that role model, be that representation of what else is out there. For other people, and for yourself.

Because when you put down yourself for being gay, being femme, being black, being all three - you are putting down other people like you too. You are another voice telling them that they are inferior and ugly and hopeless. And you are reinforcing the racism or the homophobia or both in the minds of others because they see yet another example of a non white, non straight, non masculine man who doesnt love himself.

Thats what bothers me about what you say sometimes. Not just the damage you do to your own self, but the way that it reinforces what other people, even on this site, might think. And I love black and brown people - thats me, thats my mom and my dad, my family, my friends, my community. We are so beaten down in this culture, there is no reason for us to do it to ourselves too. We are better than that. And if no one else is willing to say it to us, lets at least say it to ourselves.