A gay Twitter user gave voice to those who've been subjected to homophobic jokes but never said anything.
On Wednesday, April 18, @dodiegrey, who's name is Dean, asked the LGBT community to retweet "If someone in your life has ever made a homophobic joke and made u feel uncomfortable."
Not only did Dean get over 24 thousand retweets, he started a conversation that launched his post to viral status.
He emphasized that gay people shouldn't be spoken for when it comes to joking at their expense.
Let me just say that straight people can't determine what is and isn't homophobic just like white people can't determine what is and isn't racially offensive or men can't determine what is and isn't sexist and offensive to woman thank you for coming to my ted talks goodnight xox
"Bereth" further validated his point and explained that a "privileged group" needs to be more receptive to those with whom they can't relate to on a social level.
It's about a privileged group that has to learn how to listen to the people suffering from systemic oppression rather than invalidating their experiences. You can't know how a certain kind of oppression feels like if you've never experienced it.
"Bex," who's a lesbian, was frustrated towards her father for mocking her 2-year-old little brother wearing clothes that people generally assume is socially acceptable for girls.
Whenever my step-mum puts my little brother in pink or he plays with 'girls' toys my dad calls him gay and saying he's gonna be gay when he's older!
Dean was upset over gender roles dictating how one should live their lives.
No matter on what your views are about how many genders there is or what everyone should just let people like what they like if they're not harming anyone why does it matter.
This person was tormented by members of his family, including his mother, when he was 6-years-old and can still feel the sting of their hurtful remarks.
Dude not even just 1 but many people made fun of my 6-year-old-me for "looking like a lesbian" and probably even disgusted by it.
This is the kind of hurtful jeering that prevents someone from having the courage to come out. @chamm_y added things are especially difficult where he's from, although he didn't specify where.
It's hard to live with years of so much insecurity about my "boyish" personality and people keep forcing me to come out even how obviously uncomfortable I was.
A family friend suggested this user who was 17 at the time to experience straight sex, asserting that "real" sex was better.
One user didn't understand the point and asked for clarification.
Are we not allowed to joke about gay people? I always kinda thought joking about someone was a way of accepting them cause everyone gets joked about.
Dean stepped in to clear the air by explaining that it's not about the joke itself that is offensive. Specific comments that make someone feel uncomfortable with who they are are the ones that hurt most.
Some people just get it.
H/T - Twitter
@RonFilipkowski/X