It's all about labels, and the LGBT community has just about had it. And right in the middle of pride month. Interesting, yes?
As a GenXer, I fell in love with the music from Elton John, Tracy Chapman, Dusty Springfield, and, of course, Boy George. He was known for his hats, his braids, and his makeup. We thought that was just his shtick, and it turns out it was. He also had a beautiful voice, and that's why he was successful. We didn't care how he dressed or acted or for his preference in the bedroom.
Back in the day, L stood for lesbian, G stood for homosexual men (Gay), B stood for bisexual, and T stood for transvestites, or what we simply thought of as cross-dressers.
I was in a club one night and saw a man wearing the same exact dress I was wearing, and he wore it better than me, so I left.
Up next, Q was thrown into the mix: "questioning" or "queer," depending on who you ask.
Apparently, LGBTQ was just not enough. And so they threw in a "+" to be sure they had all bases covered. That still wasn’t good enough. Subcultures are suddenly popping up and are quickly becoming an insult to the rest of the community. They were flipped the bird by these subcultures.
I was once in Hot Topic, and the girl behind me said to her friend, "I just tell people I am bi. It's just easier that way."
That alone indicates that this is a fad.
I have a relative who is a part of this community, and I ask questions to better understand. I really, really want to, but I can't keep up with the alphabet soup, as they are constantly changing. The conversations have always been peaceful, respectful, funny, and frustrating at the same time. It was explained to me that this is all getting out of hand and is an insult to the LGBTQ+IA community.
So, we have a culture in our LGBTQ+IA. Yes, two additional letters/labels, and it has gotten the community's knickers in a bunch. This indicates two things to me: 1) they were abused mentally, physically, or sexually, or 2) they were neglected. Being part of this community is difficult to navigate through, especially for the attention-seekers. But many of them, to be more unique, set themselves apart from the gay community. The "I am special but need to be more special and more unique than anybody else" mentality. These are the people who really need help to heal from wounds they are filling with a new label.
So, what are all the labels? Here we go:
Allora, Allosexual, Aro, Asexual, Autoromantic, Autosexual, Demiromantic, Demisexual, Gay, Gaygender, Gender fluid, Gynesexual, Gynosexual, Heteroromantic, Heterosexual, Homoromantic, Lesbian, Monosexual, Omnisexual, Panromantic, Pansexual, Polysexual, Queer, Sexual fluidity, Skoliosexual, Spectrasexual.
But wait, there is more:
Aro, Androsexual, Asexual, Autoromantic, Ace, aro/ace aro spectrum, Allo, Aromantic, Asexual, Ally, Biphobia, Butch, Cisgender or Cis, Coming out, Deadnaming, Demisexual, Femme, Gender expression, Gender identity, Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), Gillick competence, Grey (sexual and romantic) Heterosexual/straight Homosexual, Homophobia, Hyposexual, Intersexual, Lesbian, Lesbophobia LGBTQ+AI, LGB, LGBT, LGBTQ, Non-binary, Orientation, Outed, Person with a trans history, Pan, Passing, Platonic, Pronoun, Queer, Questioning, Romantic orientation, Sex, Sexual orientation, Spectrum, Transgender man, Transgender woman, Transitioning, Transphobia, Transsexual, Undetectable.
These are the same kids who were given trophies for just showing up.
It's all about labels and the attention that comes along with those who want to be completely unique beyond anyone else. Eventually, those lost in the culture of the movement will abandon their own declaration to create another if the pool becomes too big.
Label after label after label. I can't keep up, and that's why I gently ask the questions I do — because I really want to know.
They're Not Leaving Marks on Pride Murals Because They Hate Gay People
New Polls Show More Americans Are Not Buying Into the Transgender Agenda
It was explained to me that the "+" was used as an umbrella that covered all of the bases, and they are sick of these constant changes. These subcategories in the community are falling apart, taking the rest of the community with them. According to my relative, it has been difficult to watch and experience. There is a lot of in-fighting going on, and the house of cards is quickly collapsing.
The LGBTQ+ community is quite upset over this. They are left to find this all demeaning to the community as a whole. This entire thing will run its course, and someday, SOMEDAY, these GenZers will figure out which bathroom they should use. (Yes, there are even labels on the door that tell them which one to use.) They will be deemed the “hippies” of modern day.
Jen Ennenbach is a Christian, wife, and mother of two whom she homeschooled. She has been active in US politics since 2009, when she became the media liaison for the St. Louis Tea Party. She later went on to run a podcast as well as assisting on campaigns in the general elections. She is currently a board member of Show Me Trump.