A 15 year old and a 17 year old are in my mentions telling me I can't be bi because I like more than two genders.

When I was a teen and people used the term bi.... well we didn't really know about nonbinary back then. But we still didn't frame it as "I like both genders"

It was framed as "gender doesn't matter to my attraction"

I don't know how this changes by demographic area.

I mean I didn't personally use the label back then b/c of scrupulosity.

But I knew people who did & this is how I understood the term based on that.

I'm not normally one to bring up age in these types of things because young people are often what we call "movers and shakers"

Also, I'm pretty young.

But it's really irritating when people 10 years younger than me & not even able to vote yet try to lecture me on my sexuality.

I'm just saying, at 15 I never believed any adults who said I'd change my mind on things as I grew and understood better.

At 15 I went to church 3 days a week, believed being "colorblind" was the best way to deal with race, and believed that altering my body was an insult to God

For those not keeping score:

- I currently go to church zero days a week. I'm still religious? But healing from the harm the church did me & also don't feel comfortable returning until I'm further in OCD therapy.

- the concept of being "colorblind" erases minority cultures. It not only denies fantastic parts of BIPoC identities (erasing cultural identity in favor of a homogeneous "human kind" based in white eurocentric ideals) it also denies the struggles of oppression & white privilege

It's also a lie.

The majority of people in our society notice race - especially the darker someone's skin is.

Humans generally are largely visual. With some disability based exceptions, the reality is that most people will notice skin tone when they meet someone new.

- I have a tattoo, 9 piercings, and am planning on getting top surgery

Also at 15 I had hair down to my hips and thought I'd never cut it.

And here we are....