Being Queer Is A Choice... Or Is IT?

This one is gonna be really short, but I just want you to consider a few things;

Why would anyone choose to be part of such a marginalized community?

Why would anyone choose to not be employed (seeing as homophobic employers don't even consider queer people for jobs, regardless of how well suited they are for that job)?

Being queer is considered illegal in several countries and punishable by death in some. Why would anyone willingly choose to associate with something like that?

Coming out as queer means losing friends and families alike. It's extremely lonely for people who don't have any support system. Do you think they'd choose that just for the fun of it?

Being in the closet and having to hide your identity is literal hell, yet coming out isn't safe for most people. Do you think anyone would want to choose between living in hell and losing everything (friends, family, job)? And yes, there's no third option for a lot of us.

For people under the trans umbrella, living in a body that doesn't really feel like yours and dealing with dysphoria 24/7 is EXTREMELY unbearable, yet we have no choice but to live with it. Why would anyone choose that?

Trans people have to bind and tuck in order to feel a tiny bit comfortable in their own bodies. Do you think it's easy to choose between the physical pain and the mental distress (dysphoria)?

I could go on and on but this article has already turned out longer than I expected.

So before you condemn queer people for "choosing that lifestyle", think about these and try to answer honestly.

Gay/trans/ace people do not deserve the hate. We're just people.

We are NOT "flaunting our lifestyle", we're living as our authentic selves.

Trying so hard to survive in a world that is so bent on erasing out existence is hard enough. Don't compound it by being hateful to people who are just trying to LIVE.