gavinfrcc said:
oh man let me know if i've misinterpreted anything you've said but i just wanna point out that - i think the reason that particular stereotype (plaid shirts, etc.) is so prominent on tumblr is because there are a lot of queer girls on here & i think its a way of reclaiming the stereotype, like reclaiming slurs, in a way. which depending on your opinion can be either good or bad, but i dont think people on here are actively trying to promote that stereotype

tragicallyphosphorescent:

Yes, I am aware that there are many queer people here on Tumblr, that’s why I’m surprised that they don’t seem to have anything against those stereotypes.
I think the issue slurs is different. Slurs do offend people, yes, and they contribute to racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism, but stereotypes are way way way worse. Because they affect you personally and everyone who is in that group.
If you you are queer, for example, and someone calls you a slur, you will indeed me offended, but if someone tells you that queer people are like this and queer people are like that and that ex.“you can’t be a lesbian because you are so feminine”, that is way way worse.
Slurs do offend people in the moment they are said, yes, but stereotypes and sentences dedicated to said group can be way more dangerous.

i wasnt trying to say slurs & stereotypes are the same - theyre two very different issues & that was a bad example, sorry.

i think there’s a difference between people outside of a group using stereotypes towards people in that group, people in the group using stereotypes to exclude people who are also in the group & people in the group using stereotypes for fun.

most posts i’ve seen have been the third example, like if 2 lesbians are joking about how they should wear plaid - a lot of the posts i’ve seen have been like that & have been aimed towards lesbians who identify with that. i think it’s easy to differentiate between jokey posts and “you dont wear plaid so youre not a real lesbian” or even “you wear plaid and reinforce the stereotype so you shouldnt call yourself a lesbian”

i dont think jokey posts like that are all that bad, but i can understand that too many of them will make some people feel excluded & can also reinforce the stereotype. but i guess its up to whoever’s making the post to decide whether its okay to make that post or not.

anyway; i dont want to force my opinion on you or anything, i just wanted you to take my point into account because it didnt seem like you had.

also, side note: i’m not a lesbian and that stereotype was just used an example bc its one of the posts you reblogged, so do with that what you will