February 2020

Page 28

Confro HETERONOR ON VALENTINE'S Day by Sophie Uy

A perspective on the world’s most ‘loving’ holiday, through the viewpoint of a member of the LGB TQ+ community

E

xperiences are not universal!” It seems only fitting to begin with this quote by “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star Dong Nguyen, which speaks for itself. I’m aware that Northern Virginia has always been a sheltered bubble, and the discrimination I’ve experienced as a member of the LGBTQ+ community may not be nearly as extreme as what others have dealt with. Valentine’s Day has never felt quite right to me, not just because of the holiday’s consumerist nature, but because it’s always been “straightcoded.” Any advertisement for chocolates, flowers, or valentines from Target always showed the same thing: a man and a woman in love, which goes to show that love is still subject to heteronormative commercialization. Heteronormativity is the belief that heterosexuality is the “norm,” whereas being LGBTQ+ isn’t. Never am I more aware of my queerness and how wrong it feels (when it isn’t!) than on Valentine’s Day.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.