You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You both like gay.
You: hey
Stranger: Why are u gay
You: Ive always been like this
You: as long as I can remember
Stranger: Oh
You: Do you think you are?
Stranger: I know this may sound weird but
You: Im prepared, this is the internet after all
Stranger: Will u explain something to me i swear its in a respectful way
You: Of course
Stranger: Please i dont want to offend u
Stranger: First of all
You: realising I was gay myself meant getting over a lot of wrong ideas I had
Stranger: Are u a woman? Or a man?
You: Man
Stranger: Age?
You: 16
Stranger: Oh okay
Stranger: So the question is
You: Yes?
Stranger: Oh before i ask
You: Yep?
Stranger: Are u a part of the proud marches and protests?
Stranger: Do u go?
You: Sometimes yes
Stranger: Okay
You: sometimes just to meet other gay guys though aha
You: quite hard finding someone to go out with
Stranger: Where? I know this sounds creepy but i just wanna clear things up
You: London usually
Stranger: Ok
You: london pride is always very big
Stranger: Ur british
You: hope to go to LA someday for LA pride
You: yeah
Stranger: I fucking love u already okay
Stranger: So the question is
Stranger: If you want all this respect, acceptance and all, why would you wear skimpy outfits in pride protests and separate yourselfs from the rest of the world?
You: Because part of being gay is having a close look at tradition, the conservative views of (in this example) what is 'right' or 'wrong' to wear
Stranger: Maybe, if you all acted natural and didnt make a big deal out of this, we could negociate if thats what we can call it.
You: Those things are all very restricting with no reason, part of all the flare and silly outfits is shunning tradition that would have oppressed us, or told us that being gay was wrong
Stranger: I asked the question and i respect ur point of view, but 1) who told u that was "right" or "wrong". WHO? And 2)
Stranger: I would give you SOOO MUCH MORE RESPECT if you ddint wear tiny neon thongs out in public and i have another question, if you are comfortable enough to answer
Stranger: :)
You: Well its a complicated question, but most of what we think is 'right' or 'wrong' comes from religion, mostly Christianity. The Bible specifically says that homosexuality is a sin, among other things. But even if we are not all very religious anymore, these views carry on in the way we think
You: ofc :)
You: Gay people don't really want other peoples respect though, they just want to be themselves and whatever they want to do without being judged for it. Wearing those outfits is breaking down those old thoughts and traditions that they think are harmful, that come from religion etc.
Stranger: Well okay yes but: WHO TAUGHT YOU TO SAY THAT? The next question is: if the world lived peacefully with gays and lesbians, would you feel theneed to fight with the same arguments that every gay person has?
Stranger: Because its true: you all have the same arguments for whatever
You: Its because they are the truth to me, I think they gold true to what is going on in the world. I've read up a lot about it, the internet has definitely helped
Stranger: If u dont want our respect, then why would u go out in protests?
Stranger: Yes but who taught u?
Stranger: Books, magazines, ur teacher?
You: I taught myself mostly
You: books and the internet
Stranger: So u didnt teach urself
You: we protest to get the government to change things
Stranger: The internet and books did, you see?
You: everyone gets their information from somewhere
You: even einstein went to school
Stranger: But we all have minds of our own so howcome you all think the same way?
You: Because we are all united by feeling outcast by tradition
Stranger: Im coming off rude but its just curiosity i swear :)
You: we feel so sad that we have something different that we cant change
Stranger: But you dont need that
You: or fake very well
You: so we look for answers
Stranger: You WANT to be outcasts...
You: I'd rather be true to myself and be outcast than faking being straight yes
You: but admitting to myself that I am gay and that it must be OK brings up lots of questions
Stranger: We dont push you out, YOU HAVE SHOWN US THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE GAY, WE SHOULD CRAM YOU OUT OF EVERYTHING...
Stranger: Exactly
Stranger: Youre saying it yourself!
You: But being gay doesnt mean anything especially about yourself
You: only your sexual preference
You: like if you like marmite or you dont
Stranger: What do you mean? Are you outcasts because WE make you outcasts, or because you WANT to be?
Stranger: Exactly
Stranger: So why make a big deal out of it?
You: We are outcasts because society has made us outcasts, we hope to one day not have to be discriminated against
You: Like I dont want it to be illegal in russia to tell children its "ok to be gay"
You: Or for most states to be able to discriminate against transgendered people for employment
Stranger: You could walk on the streets and not seem like an outcast, just grab your shit, go to school, walk around the street and NO ONE would think you are different except for you because in your mind you have projected this image of you (general) being a victim and
Stranger: You are not
You: But gay people are still discriminated against
You: And my struggle also overlaps with the struggle of lots of other people
Stranger: Lets stop this. I have another question and please from the bottom of your heart, no guilt,
You: Of course
Stranger: Dont you believe that, honestly, transgender people IN THE OLYMPICS ONLY should match with each other, because lets look at it this way, mentally, yes a person is the gender they choose, but they should play fair
Stranger: A woman and a man ( pscientifically speaking) dont have the same anatomy
Stranger: So it would not be fair to them or other contestants or olympians
You: I think the olympics is obviously very gendered, and binary gender (two genders) is already an idea we are realising isnt as universal as we thought it was
Stranger: Explain
You: for example in lots of foriegn countries around india it is a perfectly normal part of society to have 3 genders
Stranger: Lets not go to india
Stranger: I asked olympics...
You: But even if we did the olympics just on biological sex
You: there are lots of differences between people
You: there have already been a lot of complaints of high testosterone female atheletes
You: despite them being cisgender
Stranger: I get it, but everyone trains the same and make the best effort, so thats not a concern. What i meants was
Stranger: Dont you think it would be fair for transgender people to compete against transgender
Stranger: Minding their identification gender, to not fucking offend anyone
You: through the lens of the olympics, which is quite divisive, no
You: but its not a real point of any sorts
Stranger: But it is
Stranger has disconnected.

The only thing this tells us is that the olympics, a flawed system of viewing gender, doesnt cater for transgendered people.