I was uncomfortable when a friend said to me, “It’s cool to be LGBTQ+.”

There are words that make you feel uncomfortable, even when they were meant in a positive way.

“I didn’t look like LGBTQ+!”
“You look ‘normal’ to me.”
“Same-sex couples are so hip right now.”

The problem with such statements may be that they are based on the preconceived notion that “LGBTQ+ is something special” and do not respect the individuality and personality of the other person.

Sexual orientation and gender identity are important aspects of one’s identity, but they are not the only aspects of “who they are.”

Some of the people who make such comments may have felt pressured to say something nice after coming out.

It would be nice if we could reduce the number of cases of unintentionally hurting someone by respecting them for who they are and not imposing prejudices and images of LGBTQ+ people.