(no subject)

[sigmaleph]

there's this idea i run into every once in a while that some people who are not, let's say, sufficiently central examples of the lgbtq community should not 'use up' resources that would otherwise go to more deserving queer people. I see this from both sides: people saying that e.g. ace people are not really part of the LGBTQ community so we shouldn't let them in, but also like dysphoric people saying they are not really that trans so they shouldn't be on HRT. Because resources would get used up, and other people need them more.

the thing I am always reminded of, especially in the latter case, is this: I'm currently on two medications for HRT. One is an estrogen gel mostly used by postmenopausal women, and the other is an androgen blocker mostly used by people with prostate cancer. It turns out that there's a lot more postmenopausal women than people with prostate cancer; it also turns out that one of those medications is always available at any pharmacy I go to and the other went from 'spotty availability' to 'can't get it all except through my health insurance'. Guess which is which.

The resources available to queer people are not infinite, but they are also not a fixed amount set in stone. they respond to, among other things, how many queer people there are. Partly this is because people contribute resources to their community as well as using them; this is probably the case if you think about, e.g. donations to queer-focused charities. Partly, y'know, markets and stuff, people buying more hormones means people making more hormones.