Oh boy, here we go! My first political blog post! If anyone has a problem with what I’m about to say or something I say in the future, it’s not my job to apologize for what I believe in. I’m always open to civil discussions, but if you can’t do that then feel free to unfriend me and/or stop reading my blog. Now, on with the show! Let’s talk about my thoughts on the LGBTQ+ community (but really just the T).

First off, why am I talking about this? Well it started when I went on a date recently and the topic of transgender rights came up (bit of a serious topic for a 2nd date, but I rolled with it), and I figured I might as well put it out there eventually since this is a hot-button topic in 2022. Then I was watching some shows not long after with transgender characters and I kinda took it as a sign that I should talk about it now. And now we’re here, so allow me to share my thoughts.

I believe that transgender people are people. Crazy, right? Apparently that’s a big deal to certain kinds of people, but I want them to be treated with the same respect and given the same rights as anyone else. They should be able to identify however they want, use whatever pronouns they want, use whichever bathroom they want, join the military and fight for our country if they want, adopt kids if they want, whatever you can think of that everyone else is able (or should be able) to do. Why do I feel this way? Because I know to mind my own damn business and not concern myself with things that have nothing to do with me. As long as they’re not hurting anyone, then let them do whatever makes them happy.

One of the most common issues that comes up during discussions about the transgender community is that their decisions/lifestyle (or whatever you might think to call it) might be difficult to comprehend. Well, allow me to put it this way. Whenever something tragic happens, someone will inevitably say something along the lines of “God works in mysterious ways,” which implies that they don’t understand Him. If millions of people can respect God without understanding Him or His decisions, then it shouldn’t be so hard to do the same with transgender people.

I’ve been watching a show on Starz (a premium channel like HBO or Cinemax or Showtime) called P-Valley, and there’s a character who goes by the name Uncle Clifford. Now, Uncle Clifford is very masculine-presenting with a well-groomed beard and male genitalia and everything, but prefers to go by she/her pronouns and wears a long weave and flashy nails and makeup and heels and dresses very feminine. Is Uncle Clifford considered transgender? I’m not sure. Do I totally understand her life and choices? No. Do I still try my best to respect her even though she’s a fictional character? Definitely. Do I think she’s a bad bitch? Abso-fuckin-lutely! Rock yo shit, kween!! Lafayette from True Blood would be proud (RIP Nelsan Ellis).

It’s also not uncommon for people to go past misunderstanding and just completely disrespect a transgender person by mis-gendering or deadnaming them because they only recognize the person as the gender that they use to be. Here’s an awesome analogy I found to explain just how ridiculous that is. You know those Pizza Hut buildings, right? They usually have a pretty recognizable signature roof. Let’s say that a Pizza Hut closes down and is now an accounting firm. It’s still the same building with the same roof, so you know that it used to be a Pizza Hut. The thing is, it’s not a Pizza Hut anymore. It’s an accounting firm now. If you went into the accounting firm and said that they weren’t really an accounting firm but a Pizza Hut and tried to order an extra-large pepperoni, then you’d look like an absolute fucking dumbass. It’s the same thing with transgender people. Don’t be a fucking disrespectful dumbass, and please just address them as the gender they are now with their new name and preferred pronouns.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some of my readers saw all this and thought something like “so we’re just supposed to always be on eggshells and cater to the feelings of these fragile snowflakes” or whatever. That’s not what I’m saying at all. Showing respect to someone is not the same as catering to them or treating them as fragile. I need help with a lot of things and feel that I deserve respect and equal rights and accessibility, but I also love it when people crack jokes about me and talk shit like they would with any other friend or family member. To me, that’s real equality: showing respect to everyone while simultaneously being humorous about everyone. I know Dave Chappelle is in hot water with the LGBTQ+ community because he’s supposedly transphobic, but from what I’ve seen he does a (mostly) great job of making jokes about various groups of people without “punching down” on them. I’m not saying that he never said anything that might be problematic, but if you watch his last Netflix special “The Closer” then I think he does a solid job of being funny while also explaining his thoughts and experiences and viewpoints.

Also, and I can’t believe this is still a point of contention, THE MEDIA IS NOT MAKING PEOPLE GAY OR TRANSGENDER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT!! Nobody sees someone sucking dick or cutting off certain body parts and thinks “oh that looks so cool, I wanna try it” like your closed-minded uncle or Fox News or whoever keeps telling you. The gazillions of straight relationships and cisgender people in the media throughout history haven’t eliminated or converted the LGBTQ+ community, so it doesn’t make any sense for the reverse to suddenly be true. It’s all about representation, not conversion.

I hope this blog post has cleared up some things. I don’t expect anyone’s minds to suddenly and magically be changed (my ego isn’t that big lol), but hopefully this will start an important conversation for some of you that needs to happen.