@library_squirrel@weirder.earth @MerlinJStar@weirder.earth I'm not sure this aligns with what I've heard from folks who weren't raised in Western cultures. Additionally, I feel I did address those concerns in my initial reply.

Why are you so insistent that framing queerness as a western lens is wrong? My point was that there are behaviors that look like queerness in regions that people who live there might view differently, and that it's important for the queer community to listen to the people there and respect whether or not someone identifies with 'queer'. If someone does identify with queerness, that's fantastic, too.

I never intended for it to be exclusionary, but I do think it's reductive to paint homosexual love as queer in a culture that is actively opposed to western colonization. IMO, it would be like calling a tone poem music genre that evolved on its own 'jazz', despite the objections of the musicians.

To put it another way, what would the world be like if we didn't 'need' queerness to keep people safe and happy? What if that were the case in the culture you were raised in? Do you think it would affect your relationship with queerness?

I'm reminded most of two-spirit indigenous traditions, and a feeling of 'not needing' queerness to fight against homophobia and similar, as those themes weren't present pre-colonization. As individuals, many two-spirit people, especially younger ones, are queer, but not everyone is, and I think that's important to respect.

It's not the kind of thing that makes for interesting conversation, it's just a note to respect that not everyone identifies that way.