Identify can be tricky. The line between sexuality, gender identities, and where you fall on the queer/straight spectrum is something most LGBTQ+ people have had to grapple with at some point.
But can straight people be queer? That’s the question on the mind of one Redditor who posted on the r/lgbt subreddit looking for opinions.
The post sparked countless comments from trans people talking about their “straight” attractions, folks from the aero ace community weighing in on feeling both queer and straight at the same time, and other people asking questions as they struggled to understand the concept.
There may never be universal agreement on an issue as complicated as sexuality and queer identity, but these commenters have taken the challenge on!
Trans people can be straight
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"There are straight trans people, so yes. Edited to add: also straight asexual people." — Wild-Lychee-3312
"I’m a straight trans woman!" — sweetapplelady
"Im trans female and straight" — slayqueen1782
What about intersex and ace folks?
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"Trans people , intersex people , aromantic , asexual , aroallo , aceallo , etc. So yeah." — 666Werewolf666
"Yes, any part of the lgbtq+ community is a kind of queer, same with people on the ace and aro spectrums who can be straight as well" — SlytherKitty13
"Straight trans people yes. Straight Ace people yes. Straight intersex people yes. Straight Cisgender, No." — SmilingBread83
"trans, intersex, aro spec, ace spec, demigirl/boy, there are a ton of ways to be straight and queer" — Desperate_Intern_257
"This confused me for a minute before I realized “oh yeah trans and aro/ace people” — Lingx_Cats
"I’m aroace and straight, even tho I don’t date or have sex lol" — unicorn_ho
The confusion is real
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"I constantly get told I’m queer for being trans but then get told that straight people aren’t queer even though I’m straight so I genuinely am confused by people" — HangryChickenNuggey
"At first I was like 'tf are you talking about' then I remembered that queerness isn't just about sexuality, God I'm so stupid" — lenaisnotthere
"And the inverse is also true. Gay people can be non queer. See: Dave Rubin, Blair White, MAGA Gays, etc. A lot of neurotypical gays have this problem." — the_nintendo_cop
Some people had questions
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"transgender people can be straight. isn't transgender a kind of queer? sorry if I'm getting the labels mixed up." — carl_the_cactus55
"wouldn't aroace be nothing but aroace (since not attracted to anyone romantically AND sexually?). Though if someone's only aro or only ace then yes (is that what you meant? I always assume aroace to be a term for is someone is both)" — MaoBelladonna
"How? Being straight means you're sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex. Being asexual means you don't experience attraction towards anyone. Those seem mutually exclusive." — TvManiac5
Others just didn't want to be straight
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"Yeah, I'm technically a straight trans woman but I don't like calling myself straight so I use queer." — sidnynasty
"Same but trans guy! I don't want to be a straight white dude" — NaomitheWolf
And some people just wanted to lighten the mood
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"how else do you explain Italians" — MintyNinja41
"Unless you're bi, if you're bi you're forbidden to be in a straight relationship or your queerness status is revoked. /j" — APXD_6
The intersection of gender, sexual orientation, and identity is SO complicated, but the community has spoken: you can absolutely be straight and queer at the same time!
