Is being LGBT+ a major or minor part of your identity?

I think in the beginning it was a big part of me... who I was because I was finally able to talk about my feelings and get excited about promoting equality and pushing for gay rights... Things have calmed down now that my girlfriend and I are out to everyone but I still talk to anyone who will listen about our rights.. So I'm taking the Aquarian route and being right about in the middle of the fence. I know... that wasn't any help, right!

 

I guess it is. Being attracted to women and special men does define part of who I am. I like to think it's more important to my identity than my mental illness is. Who wants that? Maybe that's why lots of people won't accept that they have a mental illness.

 

For me, it's only a small part of my identity, and it seems to matter more to others than it does to me. But I completely understand why it is central to the identities of others.

 

I wouldn't say its a major part of my identity, but as a shy person, I do not vocalize myself very often. There's still a lot of people I'm not out to, but when/how they find out doesn't matter to me anymore. Its just something that people either know about me or have guessed about me.

When I'm alone, or when I'm online, I am much more 'out there,' for lack of better word(s). I have been looking into more LGBT books/movies and fanfics/stories, and feel that I am much more open online. I'm still exploring my sexuality, as it is all still really new to me (I recently started to realize this about me and accept myself), and I feel that once I am more comfortable with who I am, then I can and will start to be more open about myself in 'real life.'

 

Minor.

 

I think people who say this are blaming the victim.

For me, it's a significant part of my identity, because it has played a major role in my life and in my personal development as a person. It has made me have different life experiences I otherwise wouldn't have had I been straight.

Whether it is a major part of one's identity is something personal. There's nothing wrong with someone not considering being LGBT as a significant part of their identity, but they shouldn't tell others that it shouldn't be part of their personal identity.

 

My sexuality is an extremely minor part of my identity, barely anyone knows how I identify and I don't care enough to tell them.

My gender is pretty major because it makes up who I am and how I want to be perceived and since I'm currently in the process of coming out and socially transitioning its practically all that takes up my mind at the moment.

I disagree with people that believe that it playing a major part of your identity means that it's loud and being shoved in peoples faces. I'm not trying to gain any attention from anybody. I just want to be treated and read as the person I see myself as and because thats not happening right now it's definitely an important and prominent part of my identity.

 

For me, its minor. Most people don't know.

 

It's a very large part for me. I love being queer, and it informs why I love, why I fight, and how I want to be and move through the world.

 

This is a good question, and it depends. I'm lucky that I go to university in a very liberal part of Canada and have met many LGBTQ people of my age, some of whom are passionate activists fully involved in the local queer community, others of of whom don't give a second fuck. The people who have been out since their early teens tend not to make it a big deal, whereas the people who came out closer to young adulthood are the ones you find in the feminist clubs, the protests, the seminars, the dance parties etc.

So I think it depends on your stage of life. If you've been out for a long time, you're probably more comfortable with it and the novelty fades out over time. If you're recently out, you want to meet other queer folks, give back to the community (after pulling through your own challenges of being queer), and also learn more about being queer.

Myself I'm a bit of a baby-dyke so being queer has recently been a more important part of my life, mostly because I'm still trying to get over residual internalized homophobia. Hence I hang out in spaces like these and read Autostraddle and go crazy over lesbian ships on TV (haha).

Still, it's not a MAJOR part of my identity. In fact, I say being a person of colour remains the biggest part of my identity because it's 1) 100% visible and 2) something I share in commonality with way more people...which makes it more of a conversation topic in everyday life. However, I'm really enjoying this new third-wave "intersectional feminism" rhetoric and I know some local folks who are doing a good job spreading awareness of QTBIPOC (Queer Trans* Black Indigenous People of Colour) issues that are unique to us non-whites in a settler country

 

Almost nobody knows about my identity, but truly, almost nobody knows much about me. I would say it's pretty important to me. I don't want to be known as THAT trans guy or THAT gay guy, but it's still there on the sideline.

I will usually not care if someone talks about being gay, except if they're just being overly camp about it.

 

I think this is a really interesting concept. It's difficult to say that there's one right way to be a member of the LBGT+ community. We're already so used to the feeling of being put into a box, and I think that this feeling is why people feel so strongly one way or the other.

For people who want to be really open about their identity, they feel that breaking out of this box includes being loud and proud, as the adage goes. However, for the people who believe it's more private, they think that stressing their label only makes the box tighter on them, and life shouldn't be entirely about identity.

I can understand both sides, but I find that I like to be more reserved about it. I'm already a private person, so I'm sure that helps, but I also feel that who I love is such a small part of my character. Whether the person I'm talking to knows my sexual orientation or not is not very important to me, although I love using bisexual puns from time to time

So, I don't think there's one right way to do it. I think we're all different and that's an important thing to respect.

 

To me it is overall minor and I wish the world saw it the same way. I'm very low key and I don't like making a big deal or show out of things. However it is still something I live with every day and I can't exactly ignore it, I do think about it every day, but mainly only because I've been taught that it's a big deal. If society was more tolerant then I would not worry about it at all.

 

I'm really open about it just because there's a huge LGBT student body at my high school and I'm friends with basically all of them. We make lots of closet jokes and "about as straight as I am" jokes, and I think thee reason why we do that is because deep down most of us are afraid. A lot of us aren't out to our parents, a lot of us are really afraid of losing the love of our families or friends because of our genders and sexualities. I feel like for us it's kind of a way to help us accept our own identities.

---------- Post added 14th Apr 2016 at 12:42 PM ----------

This. I actually have a theory about this.

I think that when people first discover their identity or come out or however they kind of step into the community, that box breaks. And it feels so good to be out of that box that at first you're kind of just like "RAINBOWS EVERYWHERE HAHAHAHA"

Then over time you settle into a bit more of a "Yes it's a big part of my life but it's not my entire life, and I don't need to stick it in everyone's face" type mode

Of course everyone's different, this is just a bit of a thing I've noticed.

 

What he said.

My sexuality is of 0.00001% importance to me right now. It is basically nonexistent at this point and would be entirely unnecessary to explain to people who have no business knowing.

My gender on the other hand is a *bit* more important because, as Zac said, it makes up who I am and wish to become. It can't be avoided or ignored. And I don't want to draw attention to myself at all, I just want to quietly transition and live a normal life. It's extremely important to me personally - doesn't have to be for other people, nor do I expect it to be.

 

Minor I suppose, but I feel like I don't always decide that for myself. I feel like certain parts of my identity are more abundant at times. I feel like when I'm at home or in shool, my age is the biggest part of my identity. I had recent issues that forced my gender to be the most prominent part of my identity. I feel like in a romantic situation, my orientation would certainly be a major part of my identity. Honestly I think it has more to do with how others view us than how we view ourselves.

 

As a trans person, I'd say major. It affects me every single day, and LGBT issues mean a lot to me.

 

I'm not out to anyone other than my friends, but I doubt I'd be saying things like Daffydd Thomas. Eg. [Read in Welsh Accent] "Oh, no. I can't get on a bus. I'm gay, you see..."

 

I'm with those who consider it subjective. I can definitely understand why people place more emphasis on their gender identity as well, since it relates to how you present yourself to others. But although I'm transgender, its influence has faded over the years. I've ceased to think of myself as trans male, but rather just male. The trans part phased itself out. Now it's like saying I'm an Asian man. Sure, I'm Asian, and that's important, but at the core I'm just a man, and that's what matters the most. Y'know?

Essentially, minor does not necessarily mean less important, as I see it.

 

A little bit of both