On the International day against LGBTIphobia - by Alex Swanborough

Today is International Day against LGBTIphobia. It's a day to raise awareness against the growing problems within the LGBTIQ+ community and, well, it's sad to say - where do we start?

While the rest of society and the world tries to de-humanize, criminalize and radicalize the gay community, with the idea that we are parasitical, perverse beings who deserve murder and punishment - the community is struggling to remain united against this threat. We remain in the grip and the confines of a very hateful society. It's a very real threat, with the murders in Chechnya taking so many lives and religion which spreads misunderstanding and hate throughout the world. And while there's a war on the outside of our community there's also one inside it.

The community remains divided. Stereotyping and segregating each other and standing apart instead of together. Calling others out for being themselves, more so believing that you have to act straight to be accepted, to be some form of toxic masculinity. Believing that you are not attracted to fem boys but that's "just a matter of taste". To be part of a 'squad' or a 'tribe' and everyone else around is unworthy of being included.

Why must we do this? Why do we continue to create more barriers and internalized hatred?

Everyone has a place in this community, everyone has a voice and has a right to be listened to and most of all to be true to their nature. Whether they wash with your believes or with the waters of others. Whether they wear the same skin color, or the same hair or wear the same clothes or not we need to accept and care about other things than just ourselves. We all need to:

Stand closer together

Be kinder to each other

Spread love and not gossip

Listen more

Love more

Talk more

Dance together

Smile at the guy

Be less afraid

More accepting

Support each other

Support the community

Be sassy

be fierce

be a yas qween

slay

work

The world is already full of so much negativity; just one simple act of kindness or human decency towards another contributes to the underlying message in this post - Be the person you want others to be. Strip down all of the layers that society has put on to you, unlearn all of learning's that make you better than others, just be real. Be authentic and be you, be queer, love to be you and love others - don't be afraid of this! Just be a good human - the only one thing that will matter at the end.