The change in the number of queer people you see over time is not an indication that more queer people exist, it is an indication that less queer people are in the closet.
this is certainly true, but i do also think that when queer identities are more visible they seem more possible, so people are more likely to entertain their queer inclinations rather than just assuming there’s nothing there. does that make sense? like my gender id is a weird wobbly nonbinary thing that im only able to identify as being queer because im aware of nonbinary as an identity. otherwise id just assume I was a woman. but like, if i wasnt aware of it, i wouldnt say i was in the closet. does that make sense?
This definitely makes sense don’t worry! And I don’t want to dismiss that experience, because not only is it completely valid, but I also share it.
But I would like to say that I may have a slightly different definition of what “in the closet” means. This is something that no one is under any obligation to agree with, but I often think that being in the closet can exist before you are aware of your situation. I think this primarily because in my experience and according to many other people I have met; even if you didn’t quite know what you were hiding, you knew not to say everything.
Examples of this being, never really telling anyone how weird it felt when people called you something associated with gender, or not mentioning how pretty you think your best friend is.
In fact I often say things like “when I was in the closet, even in my own head”.
I’m not saying that narrative fits everyone, but I hope that it can give some context on what I meant in this post.
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DarkestElemental616 