My only lesbian aunt is deeply mentally ill and was a recluse for my entire childhood. I think she might also be closeted. I hope she finds happiness in the time she has left. She has at least come out of her shell and engaged with some of the family in the last 5-10 years.

Just one more downside of living in the Southern US, I guess.

This headline is pushing a family image that is not reality for most. I am annoyed by this.

What is I don’t have a lesbian Aunt? Can I get one assigned? It’s there some kind of lottery system or is it like a draft?

I had two aunts who I think of as lesbians: one who was out and in a relationship and had rainbow literally everything and introduced me to Dio, and one who was very religious and (to the best of my knowledge) single her whole life because she “had a problem with men” and introduced me to women’s sports. Both of them are so important to me and I am so grateful for their role in my life, and it has been so formative to my understanding of why it is critical to treat queer people with love and respect when I compare their lives and experiences.

I mean, as a lesbian who lives across the country from my sisters, I don’t think I’m any better or worse of an aunt as any other woman. But it is nice to be able to provide an example to help their kids combat anti-LGBTQ+ prejudices that exist in my hometown. But it’s not like I have any advantage for being a lesbian. We can still have kids of our own who would be priority or other priorities. But it’s a nice sentiment and a nice enough article about specific experiences. I just don’t think the title is very good, especially since we’re trying so hard to combat the narrative that LGBTQ+ people are always trying to aggressively convert cis-het people rather than just wanting to be allowed to exist.

I love my aunts, they have always remembered my birthday and now I know why.