#QueerSelfLove Is the Empowerment and Community We Need

Started by Dylan Marron, #QueerSelfLove is the hashtag we didn’t know we needed, but are *so* grateful to have. Amidst the darkness of Orlando, the frustration many of us have been feeling due to politicians using our hurt for their own anti-LGBT campaigns, and the everyday erasure and discrimination we face, it feels nice to have something a little lighter to look forward when we scroll through our timelines.

Who said the internet couldn’t be used for the greater good?

It all started with one Tweet.

\u201cI am a soft-spoken brown queer man who wears his mother's pearl earrings. And I love my queerness. Let's start a #queerselflove hashtag\u201d
— Dylan Marron (@Dylan Marron) 1465951254

From then on, the tag was loaded up with love, support, and a vulnerable honesty that made the sense of community feel stronger than ever. We were ourselves, and we were loved for it.

Folks from all across the spectrum shared their journey with self-love.

\u201cI'm fat bi survivor of abuse, I fought long and hard to own my femininity & love other women instead of competing w them. #queerselflove\u201d
— Hettie Bell (@Hettie Bell) 1465997886

— (@)

\u201c#queerselflove gotta love myself cos im the only one I've got\u201d
— liz is so gay (@liz is so gay) 1465954404

\u201cLook at how really freaking cute this trans lesbian Latina witch is\u201d
— Mey Rude (@Mey Rude) 1466008873

People opened up, sharing identities alongside fun facts like we were at the best kind of queer hangout.

\u201cI'm a gender non-conforming Chicanx earth bb who loves singing & freestyling w my guitar / bike #queerselflove\u201d
— Ceci Pineda (@Ceci Pineda) 1466012920

\u201cI'm a boy band butch lesbian who edits and writes kids' comics that let them know being queer is RAD #queerselflove\u201d
— Shannon Watters (@Shannon Watters) 1466010307

\u201cVet, Dev, Parent, Gamer, Artist and troublemaker. #queerselflove\u201d
— (Muffled Sounds Of Gorilla Violence) (@(Muffled Sounds Of Gorilla Violence)) 1466013674

The validation got real AF.

\u201cI'm Mexican & white. I like girls, nonbinary people, & boys. I'm genderqueer & femme. None of this cancels out the rest. #queerselflove\u201d
— loose tweet sandwich (@loose tweet sandwich) 1465962258

\u201cBiracial genderqueer powerlifter who knits. I'm a weirdo. I'm fine with that. #queerselflove\u201d
— alyssa (@alyssa) 1465997948

You could feel the love and support.

\u201cThe #queerselflove hashtag makes me so so happy. \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c Keep being amazing.\u201d
— Harry Cook (@Harry Cook) 1465961163

\u201cAll the hearts to those of you who don't feel comfortable or safe enough to post in #queerselflove \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c\u201d
— aster (@aster) 1465997184

As an added bonus, partners showed us that love is real.

\u201c#queerselflove two queer trans Eastern European Jews in love! @RoseLemberg & me :)\u201d
— Bogi Tak\u00e1cs PERSON\ud83c\udf3b Back and catching up (@Bogi Tak\u00e1cs PERSON\ud83c\udf3b Back and catching up) 1465967368

For me personally, #queerselflove is everything I didn’t have as a biracial, bisexual, queer kid who never fit the narrative of what it means to come out and be out. It took a long time for me to see people like me in mainstream queer media, let alone mainstream media, and just scrolling through the hashtag is years worth of validation.

— (@)

Many of us, for the first time, are coming across people who are just like us. I’m not the only biracial bisexual queer person even though it so often feels like it. It seems extreme, but the need for representation is real.

— (@)

When we see ourselves, we feel so much less alone. And this hashtag is proof of that.

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#QueerSelfLove Is the Empowerment and Community We Need

It's the *best* kind of queer hangout.

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