If you identify as anything other than straight, there's a good chance at least a few of your coworkers feel uncomfortable sitting in the cubicle next to you — at least, according to a new GLAAD report. Broadly tweeted the report, focusing on the statistic that a third of Americans reportedly feel uncomfortable with LGBTQ coworkers and neighbors.
And a teenager named Kait had the perfect response to this news.
"100% of LGBT people are uncomfortable with homophobic straight people," she wrote on Twitter.
100% of LGBT people are uncomfortable with homophobic straight people https://t.co/qjb4PkOHRZ
— Kait ? || 54 (@itzzkait) March 31, 2017
We're going to go out on a limb here and say that she didn't do any research, data-collecting, or math to reach this conclusion. It's pretty much self-explanatory.
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Her tweet also flips the script on the statistic from the report. While GLAAD released the data that a third of straight people feel uncomfortable with queer people to show how much discrimination queer people still face, it also unintentionally focuses on the straight people.
The fact that one out of every three coworkers and neighbors aren't totally fine with queer sexuality likely isn't a shocking statistic to most queer people. We can often feel when someone is uncomfortable with our sexuality -- whether or not the person is clear about their feelings.
But just because it's not a shocking statistic doesn't mean working with people who are "uncomfortable" every time you mention a partner or going out with someone of the same gender isn't terrible for us.
So, yeah, it seems fair to say that 100% of LGBTQ people are "uncomfortable" with homophobic coworkers and neighbors.
And the internet agrees. As of writing, Kait's tweet has more than 12,000 retweets and 17,000 likes. Some people are just here for her reworking of the original tweet.
@itzzkait @RafaelDelReyy pic.twitter.com/DvllGejGns
— ??Chicorah?? (@QueenAmazi) April 1, 2017
Some like to think that straight allies would also be uncomfortable with homophobic coworkers.
@itzzkait @dexbob Probably more than a third of straight people are uncomfortable with homophobic straight people.
— KeithWM (@KeithWM) April 1, 2017
And some might not be very eloquent, but still on the side of LGBTQ folk.
@itzzkait @knottyyarn FUCK those one-third of Americans.....all of em
— Corey (@ZeldaIsMyBoo) April 1, 2017
We're all for this retelling of the statistics, focusing on the queer people who have to endure "uncomfortable" people at work and at home (and everywhere else, let's be honest.) One-third may be a minority of people, but the statistics released by GLAAD in their newest Accelerating Acceptance report point to the fact that we still have a lot of work to do.
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