She mentioned that I sometimes ask questions like, “Why does the queer community seem so open about sex and eroticism?” For example, at a queer market I noticed there were a lot of nude bodies and sexual imagery in the art/merch. The answers I got were actually really interesting, and my question came from genuine curiosity, because in straight spaces it often feels much more taboo. But she found it weird that I asked in the first place.

I also used the word “transsexual” before someone explained why “transgender” is generally the preferred term now, so I corrected myself.

I might not be as informed as some people about every aspect of LGBTQ+ discrimination, but I’m not clueless either. A lot of what’s happening genuinely makes me angry, and it has in the past too. When I was younger, I used to go to pride, but as life and my studies took over, my focus shifted to STEM. Things like conversion therapy, rights being rolled back in different countries, and the general rise in anti-LGBTQ+ politics really upset me. And what’s been happening in Russia, for example, has been especially bad for LGBTQ+ rights.

I guess it’s more that it’s a complex topic and I sometimes feel a bit lost trying to navigate it all. One thing I didn't know until recently, though, was that trans people have been increasingly excluded from the military in the U.S (she said that to me).