Unpopular opinion: straight people using “partner” to refer to their SO actually helps normalize the term so that lgbt folx can use it without automatically outing themselves to strangers. It also helps other straight ppl get comfortable with the fact that strangers aren’t entitled to information about other people’s gender or sexuality.
Give op their hard-earned notes
Tbh I hear “partner” and assume gay, I didn’t know straights used it. Very fair point, OP
I hear ‘partner’ and think ‘gay’ too. A girl at work used it for months and I just went with it. When she would say ‘he’ I even thought maybe he was trans*. Anyways, someone using partner makes me more comfortable and I came out to her. She was just an intelligent straight girl that liked the term and was knowledgeable in human sexuality so definitely someone I should have felt comfortable coming out too. It’s a good sign of a straight person uses it IMO.
As a mental health clinician, this is actually my blanket term when discussing any romantic relationship. I agree it normalizes it, but I also think it’s a relatively safe term to use to describe most romantic relationships without making any assumptions about the person’s orientation or identity. I also use the word “partnered” when describing a monogamous relationship status.
The term “partner” also removes the implied hierarchy of boyfriend/girlfriend vs husband/wife. This is relevant both to non-monogamous people, and unmarried individuals for whom the importance of their relationship isn’t dictated by its legal status.
also you can make cowboy jokes
as a straight, it also helps me weed out homophobes. if they act suspect when i say “partner” i know they gots to go
I hope yall keep that same energy when they make cishet characters of color.
I can literally count the amount of playable gay male characters in video games on one hand. But Soldier 76 being a gay man is boring cause he’s white? Are you kidding me?
And I’m pretty sure if you broke it down by race white people would be winning.
Understand something all of us are some form of not-straight and/or not-cis on this blog. We are allowed to be tired and bored at white representation of LGBTQ individuals.
mod v
@squeezemetillipop My guy I hope you’re well-aware of the fact that 1. characters of color are already as underrepresented as they are, so like, regardless of circumstances this fact also ties into my complaint too??? 2. LGBTQ+ rep is ALSO underrepresented, but let’s not play around and act like it’s not super lily-White with only a few important characters of color, and 3. intersectionality exists, so as a Queer Pee Oh See™ I can call out on BS on both racial and LGBTQ+ rep when I see it, a lot with both matter at the same time too. I know. Wild.
@gaymenaredivineincarnate Yes absolutely. That’s exactly the situation here. Mod V already said what I had in mind as well, thank you for that.
~Mod H(ey now you’re a rock star, get your game on–)
This is so funny. Learn what intersectionality is before you bring it up
Intersectionality was term used by Black Womanists to describe how the racism they face often has a sexist slant and the sexism they face often has a racist slant.
Kind of like how a gay black man will face racism with a homophobic slant or face homophobia with a racist slant. I said “I hope you keep that same energy when cishet characters of color” for a goddman reason.
I don’t know who told you intersectionality means oppression olympics but they taught you wrong. Gay representation is good regardless of race. If I could count all the playable gay male characters from a AAA game company, that isn’t player sexual, I don’t think I’d go past the number 10 or 5.
But you wanna call it boring like you doing something? Like that’s how you support gay men of color?
I know very damn well, you would never comment on a new character of color and say some stupid shit like, “POC rep is so straight it’s boring”. You would fucking never. That’s how I know your support of QPOC is fake as fuck and ultra performative.
There was literally an entire scandal of Fallout 76 palyers, being disgustingly homophobic, and “hunting” gay players, and calling them gay slurs and anti-gay male comments.
The video game industry is deeply homophobic to gay men, specifically. We’re treated like shit and constantly forgotten by both companies and fans.
But you can’t sit down and use your brain to critical think for a few goddamn minutes to understand why calling the rep of a gay man in AAA game boring was slimey shit?
What? You think gay men of color can’t connect to a white gay character? Does our skin color make us so alien from white people that we can’t celebrate this victory? MY sexuality and race don’t play no second or first place. There 100% linked inseparable.
Like I fucking said, I hope you keep that same energy when a cishet character of color comes out, cause then I know for a fact you wasn’t faking your support for queer people of color. I will know that you weren’t just virtue signaling.
