OPINION-

I am sick and tired of the stigma surrounding the Queer community! For too long, we’ve had to endure erasure and insulting assumptions. As a Queer Woman, let me be perfectly clear: my sexuality is not a mental disorder! I ignored my mental disorders for a lot longer than my sexuality.

I am not confused. Well, I was confused for thirty years, but that was mainly about how simple tasks seemed repeatedly insurmountable causing frustration, self-loathing, and countless missed opportunities. I wasn’t confused about liking girls nearly as long as I was confused about why I couldn’t remember important information literally seconds after hearing it.

Sure, to the uninitiated, my mental health and my sexuality have a lot in common. Both were kept secret during my formative years. Both fill me with dread about the future. I’m uncomfortable discussing either with my family. But that’s it- besides the constant threat they both pose to my safety and position in society. Also, neither one defines me, entirely. And that’s it.