Alexander Leon @alexand_erleon Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

15,669

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971

Following

901

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7,787

Statuses

Writer & campaigner. Not using Twitter right now - but checking DMs on occasion. 🇦🇺🇱🇰🏳️‍🌈

Lisbon / London / Sydney

https://t.co/yK4Mb7pBHM

Joined May 2014

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

Pinned Tweet

@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

1 year

Not sure I can consciously use this platform anymore. No judgement to others - we all have our own nuanced reasons why we do/don't use certain platforms. But I've been teetering for edges and this pushed me off the edge. Will tweet new writing & check DMs. But for now - 👋🏽

@PopCrave

Pop Crave

1 year

Elon Musk says that “cis” and “cisgender” are considered slurs on Twitter. The term is defined in most major dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary, which added it in 2015.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Queer people don't grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation & prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us & which parts we've created to protect us.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

It's massive and existential and difficult. But I'm convinced that being confronted with the need for profound self-discovery so explicitly (and often early in life!) is a gift in disguise. We come out the other end wiser & truer to ourselves. Some cis/het people never get there.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

All of this is to say - be kind to yourself. Discovering who you really are is an enormous task it doesn't happen overnight, nor does it happen without some hiccups along the way. Be patient, be compassionate, be vulnerable and exist loudly. And most of all - be proud! 🏳️‍🌈

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

6 years

One of the first times I've actually gasped on Twitter from such an delightfully scathing counterpoint.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

The Windrush report *literally* says the UK Home Office is institutionally racist. And of course this news is conveniently being dropping in the midst of a global pandemic. Don't let it get buried.

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Home Office showed ‘institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness’ towards race, Windrush report finds

Department’s attitude towards race issues and history of Windrush generation ‘consistent with some elements of the definition of institutional racism’, says inspector of constabulary Wendy Williams...

www.independent.co.uk

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

me after spending the whole day distracting my colleagues to the point where no-one's been able to do any work

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Sexual racism is racism. If you're white & you find yourself writing off an entire ethnic group from your dating or sex life because you can't imagine finding them attractive, recognise this as a learnt behaviour which originates in white supremacy. Here's some more info: (1/2)

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

RT if you knew unequivocally that you were LGBTQ+ at 12 years old.

@BluskyeAllison

Allison Bailey

@BluskyeAllison

4 years

A 12 year old is a child. Stop putting children in with adults and labelling them LGBTQ+. Let children grow up without adult agendas. What you’re doing is a safeguarding red flag. It’s dangerous & sticking LGBTQ on it doesn’t make it any less so.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Extraordinary that it has become normal to invite a minority on morning TV to explain & then subsequently defend their experience of suffering to people who actively perpetrate it. This is an approach literally designed to trivialise suffering. And we've normalised it. Bleak.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

How do I convey to gay couples walking past me holding hands that I'm staring at them only because I think they're wonderful and brave and amazing and I feel so lucky to live somewhere where same sex love can be public and unapologetic?

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

I was angry this afternoon and channelled it into making these graphics on why racism is a queer issue. Your queerness does not cancel out your whiteness. Your experience of discrimination does not mean you cannot be discriminatory. 1/2

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

6 years

"Political correctness" is a term used by people who've always been in the "in-group" & who now feel affronted by the mild inconvenience of having to modify their behaviour to accommodate the world view of literally anyone but themselves.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

2 years

The fact that a significant slice of the news media can take the result of the Allison Bailey case and spin it to portray her as victorious against Stonewall when the tribunal literally ruled the opposite just shows how utterly broken our media is. Transphobia > facts apparently.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

This has blown up unexpectedly and I'm very humbled ❤️ If this meant something to you & you are able I'd really appreciate any donations to help families affected by the Australian bushfires. I am Australian and seeing my country burn is heartbreaking.

@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I have to leave Sydney tomorrow & I am so conflicted about leaving. My family home is <50km from fire affected areas. I am certain they will be safe but many families are not. Plz consider donating to the Red Cross if you are able. Even a RT helps ❤️

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

3 years

@BorisJohnson Honestly the gall to tweet this while denying institutional racism in the UK is so absurd it's almost impressive

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

6 years

Feel good news of the day! It's no longer illegal to be homosexual in the second most populous country in the world. 🇮🇳 This is progress!

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Campaigners celebrate as India decriminalises homosexuality

Colonial-era law is struck down by country’s highest court after decades of uncertainty

www.theguardian.com

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

him: no blacks/no Asians me, profoundly unbothered:

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

2 years

@PopCrave I am living for this and y’all’s fatphobia in the comments is showing 👀

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

PSA - this is not the energy white people should be bringing to this conversation. Yes Twitter is angry. Black folk are angry. That anger is JUSTIFIED in the face of sustained, state-sponsored anti-black violence. Your discomfort doesn't warrant a spotlight right now.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I've been so inspired by all your responses that I decided to publish the original essay that my recent tweets were adapted from. I'm a bit nervous about publishing something so personal, but I hope it speaks to someone out there.❤️🏳️‍🌈

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Out of the closet and into the fire — how I stopped performing and learned to become myself

As a child, I became obsessed with the idea that my life was an elaborate production. It took me years to understand that the only one…

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Seeing as it's #PrideMonth2020 I'd like to remind our white friends that the majority of people living in countries that expressly criminalise same sex intimacy are black & brown. In over half, criminalisation can be traced back to white colonial rule. Racism is a queer issue.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

To any trans & non-binary people reading this: many, many of us are with you. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with you protecting your rights just as you have ours. We will not and do not stand for your active exclusion and denigration. Not in my name.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I understand why gay hookup apps exist, but I often wonder if we realise how instructive they seem to young gay/bi men. Downloading Grindr was one of the first things I did after I came out. I saw it as a blueprint for gay intimacy. I've been unlearning that ever since.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I'm not sure how many LGB people in the UK appreciate how regressive the conversation around trans rights has become. We always feel entitled to finger-wag at other countries like we're some paragon of progressivity yet we're still debating trans people's right to exist.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

My tweets went viral overnight & beyond it being extraordinarily humbling (& overwhelming), I am so emboldened by the response. I adapted the tweets from an essay I thought too personal/niche to attempt to get published. I think I need to believe in my voice and message more.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

This video of a mum giving "free mum hugs" at Pride is one of the most wholesome and lovely things I've seen all week 💕 Happy Pride Month!

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I know the gay community's proximity to the sexually taboo has meant we're a more liberated bunch. But when I look back on my coming out, the expectation of hypersexuality was pressed so insistently on me that it felt like my only way to belong. I wanted mentors. I got darkrooms.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

6 years

This story seems to have been buried - a serial killer targeting gay men of colour has been sentenced. It took the disappearance of a white gay man for the police to make a thorough investigation. This is structural racism. White lives are prioritised. It is atrocious. RIP.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

At the start of lockdown, my dad received a cancer diagnosis. I couldn't get to Australia. COVID was in full swing. It was quite literally my worst nightmare. Yesterday, we got news that his treatment worked. My dad is cancer-free. He beat it. I have cried the happiest tears.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

So let me get this gay, @canadasdragrace has a two-spirit indigenous queen, a desi queen, québécois queens, a Bahamian queen and a queen called Jimbo whose whole shtick seems to be being an absurdist alien? COUNT ME IN 😍

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I’ve teamed up with @TwitterUK for #SaferInternetDay to teach you how to use my favourite function – the mute button! Simply being you on social media does not mean you should ever have to put up with abuse. So when in doubt, mute them out! Bye Felicia 💁🏾‍♂️ #ad

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Incredible busker at Dalston Kingsland Station this eve! Literallt stopped in my tracks and started filming. SING, SIS!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Holy shit Grindr is actually removing the ethnicity filter!!!!

@Grindr

Grindr

4 years

We will not be silent. Black Lives Matter.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I cried my eyes out at therapy tonight (in a good way) trying to express how profoundly moving it has been as a gay man of colour to share my story & have so many see themselves in it. Minorities are taught our stories don't belong in the spotlight. But our stories are our power.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Before you ask: - no, it's not comparable to other sexual preferences which are either innate (gender) or don't uphold a system of structural oppression (height) - no, it's not racism if POC exclude white people from their sex lives (this is often done to protect from racism)

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

A question for white folks: when the social media hype dies down, the blackout comes & goes, and the media eventually moves on from this - how will you continue to show up for black people and be actively anti-racist?

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

6 years

So you're a white ally wanting to come to @ukblackpride this Sunday - you are welcome! While this event isn't for you, you can absolutely be a part of it. Here's some top tips on how to approach the experience in a respectful and supportive way. (ft. @MNEK gifs because I want to)

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

mum & dad dug up some kiddy photos of me for my recent essay on growing up queer and sent me the below photo with the caption "how did we not know" 😂

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

3 years

I will never not find this portrayal of Stonewall as some loopy fringe group galling. We're talking about the oldest LGBTQ+ rights organisation in Europe, the equivalent of "the establishment" in the LGBTQ+ sector. Just say you don't wanna support queer folk with your chest.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Homophobia, biphobia & transphobia come from the same source. The only way we've ever successfully fought against those desperate to take our rights away is by working together. Trans people have always had my back. And so I will always have theirs. Its that simple. #IDAHOBIT2020

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

All I've ever wanted to do in any of my work is for queer people (& particularly QPOC) to feel seen, heard & understood. I can't open this app at the moment without ugly crying because y'all are showing me that in my own small way, I'm achieving what I set out to do. Thank you 💜

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

2 years

queer people's mental health has been in crisis for so long that I have run out of strategies to communicate the extremity of the problem. like in every conceivable way we have worse outcomes and the govt is out here trying to make sure trans people can still be legally tortured

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

The majority of countries that criminalise homosexuality do so because they inherited laws during European colonial rule which were informed by a Christian understanding of morality. Yet the focus is always on Islam when we talk about homophobic countries. It's infuriating.

@kmelkhat

Khalid El Khatib

4 years

I don’t watch this show but I keep seeing this clip, and it’s Islamophobic and dangerous. Period. Islam, like ALL religions, has significant progress to do in embracing intersectionality. But at its core, it’s a religion of tolerance.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

RON HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING FOLKS 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Hey Ron where you at???

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Something really strange about being ethnically ambiguous is that everyone projects onto you specific racial biases that correspond with the ethnicity they *think* you are, not necessarily what you actually are. So you experience racism in a really chaotic & unpredictable way.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

People who call themselves "gender critical" & claim being trans is an "ideology" very rarely choose to acknowledge that trans people have always existed & continue to exist across many cultures. The word "trans" is the Western manifestation of a well-documented human experience.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Massive congrats to Gabon who have decriminalised homosexuality!

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

actual conversation me: yeah so I got a blue tick on Twitter so that's pretty cool I guess, how about you? straight friend: we just bought a house 💀💀💀

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Whenever I see queer affection in public I receive it like a little gift, a quiet reminder that I am whole & the way that I love is valid. There is nothing more restorative than stumbling across unabashed queer love. It's so courageous, still. And I am endlessly grateful for it.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

So silly but I teared up watching this trailer. This is the kind of thing I wish I'd been able to watch growing up. The main character even looks kinda like me as a 16 year old 😭

@LoveVictorHulu

Love, Victor is avail now on hulu and disneyplus!

@LoveVictorHulu

4 years

His story is only just beginning. From the writers of Love, Simon comes #LoveVictor . All episodes streaming June 19, only on @hulu . ❤️

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Seems some of you are due a reminder. LGBTQ+ equality ≠ equality for white, cis, gay men. The relative freedom of one demographic within our community does not & will not trickle down to our more vulnerable members. Support trans, POC, women & working class led initiatives.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

🤷🏾‍♂️

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

I won't link the transphobic Guardian piece, but I will say - imagine what it's like to be trans in this country right now. When even the media traditionally aligned with securing your rights starts to turn against you. We will look back on this and hang our heads in shame.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

I love being queer so much. I just love it. I love our culture, I love that our mere existence is a testament to defiant authenticity & I love that all of us can bond over a shared understanding that we've had to overcome adversity to become ourselves. Being queer is magical💫

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

When you're marginalised, daring to love yourself is radical. Daring to tell yourself that who you are is perfect in a world trying to bring you down is an act of defiance. So when you're ready, defy. Love yourself proudly & openly. Know that your existence is a form of activism.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I really want to be the kind of person who doesn't post selfies on twitter but I've decided I just am and should probs lean into it. Hello, I'm Alex, and I'm a millennial who was taught this is normal behaviour.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Botswana has decriminalised homosexuality!! Enormous congratulations to @legabiboadvo and the tireless LGBT+ campaigners! Brilliant news to hear and a massive win for love and equality in the continent 🇧🇼 🎉 💕 #Repeal164

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Every queer person's new year's resolution in 2020: be kinder to yourself. Give yourself the leeway you'd afford others. Know your worth. Demand self-compassion. So many people are cruel to us for living our truths. The biggest gift you can give yourself is to not be one of them.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

@arxhiiie queer twitter philosopher at your service

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

I know these are a bit shoddy. But I've felt so helpless this week, dodging invasive DMs & seeing the queer black folk in my life's mental health collectively tanking. I know this isn't perfect, I know it won't change much. But it's something. 2/2

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Hello white friends 👋🏾 If someone feels close enough with you to share their experiences of racism, do NOT respond by negotiating whether it constitutes as racist or not. Even if it challenges your concept of racism, just listen, human to human. Your friend is asking for support.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

3 years

queer folks: the most healing thing you can do is to let go of the need to be remarkable. You don't need to be the best or have the most things to have value — no matter what the world has told you. Our value as queer people is inherent & limitless. We just have to believe it.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I LOVE how fucking crass and ridiculous and British #DragRaceUK is - no saccharine American over-production, just pure British irreverence, tits out and all! This is OUR drag race, not a cheap localised imitation. What a brilliant first episode!!

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

for all the queers that need to hear this today, I'm talking to YOU 🏳️‍🌈💞

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Would just like to alert you all that this tweet now officially has more likes than J.K Rowling's transphobic one - so we're reclaiming 2020 one tweet at a time! Here's to authenticity, equality and compassion! Trans rights are human rights. 🏳️‍🌈❤️

@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Queer people don't grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation & prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us & which parts we've created to protect us.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Should we all start donating to @Mermaids_Gender every time JK R*wling decides to be transphobic for attention again?

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

3 years

UK queers: yeah so can we plz ban conversion therapy? UK govt: very soon UK govt: UK govt: nah it's coming tho UK govt: UK govt: ok so we haven't but Alan Turing on the £50 note though? neat huh?

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I cannot express how liberating being off the gay dating apps has been. Has my romantic "life" suffered? Sure, a bit. But I am assessing potential dates with so much more generosity. And god, it just feels good to shed something which constantly demanded my judgement of others.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

The idea of what is "professional" in any working environment is essentially a collection of cultural biases formed by the in-group. It is inherently gendered & racialised. Often (not always) the concept of being "unprofessional" is the flimsy facade of a more nefarious bias.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

2 years

The validity of your queerness is not contingent on your participation in a Pride celebration, this year or any year! Shout out to the socially anxious, the homebodies, the people-who-would-just-rather-not. Pride is a feeling, not just an event! 💕

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

well I can finally say that my habit of only flirting with men on social media that are geographically inaccessible to me is now officially the responsible thing to do. A pioneer before my time. If you're 1000km from London and we have slim odds of ever meeting, I'm your guy🕺🏽

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I'm not sure how much straight people realise how "new" gay acceptance feels for our community. The UK legalised gay marriage only FIVE YEARS ago. I still get emotional when I see same sex couples who aren't afraid to show affection in public, because I think they're brave.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

A massive congratulations to Bhutan who have decriminalised homosexuality! An important step for South Asia ❤️🏳️‍🌈

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Bhutan parliament decriminalizes homosexuality, to delight of activists | CNN

A joint sitting of both houses of Bhutan’s parliament approved a bill on Thursday to legalize gay sex, making the tiny Himalayan kingdom the latest Asian nation to take steps towards easing restric...

edition.cnn.com

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Me locking eyes with literally any man during my government approved walks

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Still reeling from all the reactions to our #MeHimUs 🏳️‍🌈✊🏾 If you fancy learning a bit more about the campaign and why it's of particular importance to zoom in on the experiences of queer South Asian men, check out the piece I wrote for @GMFA_UK here:

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

And before you get mad in the comments (not my first time at the rodeo) I even have a YouTube video which explains this in more detail. I've given you all the info - I've made it easy. Will you take the time to be actively anti-racist today?

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Sexual Racism in the LGBT+ Community? | Alex Leon

What is sexual racism? Does the LGBT+ have a problem with it? What does it feel like to be both queer and a person of colour?So excited to share with you my ...

www.youtube.com

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Beware the gatekeeper "activists", the people that will always push themselves into the spotlight rather than share it. Gatekeepers don't build movements, they harm them. If you've never given an opportunity away to someone better suited, you're not doing this right.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Every time trans rights are "debated" on live TV (dishonestly & in extraordinarily bad faith) I see the ripple effect it has on the trans folk in my life, all of whom are forced to brace for impact, and it is just unconscionable. Trans lives hang in the balance. This is violence.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

This Pride Month has been harder than usual. From calls for Straight Pride, lesbophobic violence in London and the sustained attack on our trans siblings, it's hard not to feel utter despair at the state of things. But across the world, we are making small wins. Here's a few:

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Anyone who actually works with young people knows that a 12 yo child is capable of an extraordinary amount of self-knowledge. No-one is suggesting 12 yos are adults, but they're not totally oblivious either. Safeguarding ≠ disallowing LGBTQ+ youth the opportunity to belong.

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@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Can we discuss how much of a potential impact self-isolation and social distancing is going to have on folks' mental health? I'm on day 4 and this is no joke. There are people without family to look after them, without a safety net. How do we make sure everyone is okay?

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Just blocked someone who DM-d me to tell me "I'd lost my way" by "getting dressed up to attend glitzy events" rather than focusing on my activism. The event was a gala... to raise money... for the charity I work for... that fights for international LGBT+ rights. Welp.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Repeat after me: it is okay to not be productive right now.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Being the only homosexual™ & single person in my entire extended family, I always feel like a fish out of water with them, but today my cousin told me I was "always the hot one" of all the cousins and honestly I am gobsmacked. I'm the hot cousin!!! Gay rights!!!

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

This @xxllondon malarkey is the white gaytriarchy in action if I've ever seen it. All of a sudden when closure is imminent it's all about "community" and a "safe space". A safe space for who, I wonder? Not trans people. Or Muslim people. Or femme people. What an absolute joke.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

3 years

I feel like it's often overlooked in the proverbial "coming out" narrative that many of us knew that we were queer before we actually had language for it or experience to back it up. I was innately aware of my queerness before I ever felt attraction to the same sex.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

The most attractive man ever sat next to me on the Eurostar yesterday, we got chatting, I very quickly imagined our whole life together, then 5 mins in he looked down at his phone, jumped up and said: "oh, gotta go, my boyfriend's got a spare seat next to him - cya!" 💀 💀 💀

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

2 years

Alright, I'm saying it. The Peter Tatchell stuff is really cringe to me. I'm glad he's safe, but what a tactless approach - who knows what consequences this will have for queer Qataris. To so shamelessly insert yourself into this situation feels enormously reckless.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Good morning. Just a reminder to all my LGBT+ fam that you are valid, you are important and you are worthy of love. Just because the world is still catching up to our greatness, doesn't mean you weren't always great! 💕

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Sometimes allyship means speaking up & fighting on behalf of someone else, especially if they don't have access to the space you're in. But it also (more frequently) means conceding space to others and putting them in the spotlight instead. And some of y'all struggle with that.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

day 10 of self-isolation: have fallen in love with a man who walks his shiba inu past my bedroom window at around 10am each morning. he saw me today and I smiled and he looked away so... I think we're together now??? *cackles into deafening silence*

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

If you're not angry right now, you're not paying attention. And if you're not paying attention, you're shielded by your privilege.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Too many people I know spend a disproportionate amount of time loving & caring for others in order to distract from the (arguably more difficult) feat of learning how to love & care for themselves. The biggest gift you can give your community is to love yourself and do it loudly.

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

For those of you who can't, don't want to, or feel self-conscious going to @PrideInLondon today - it's okay! Your queerness is still valid, whether you are part of the celebrations or not. Pride is a feeling, not an event. You don't have to march to be proud of who you are 🙂🏳️‍🌈

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

my theories on why dating in London is such a shitshow: ☑️ millennials over-rely on digital means of finding romantic connection which aren't fit-for-purpose ☑️ everyone overwhelmed with choice as so many people ☑️ no time for dating when the planet is burning ☑️ men are trash

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Can we talk about this please???

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

4 years

Turns out that gay & bisexual men experiencing poorer mental health than the general population isn't just due to growing up in a heteronormative world. We're literally judging each other so harshly we're making ourselves ill. An important read.

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Pressure to keep up: status imbalance a major factor in stress in gay men

Striking findings contained in new study may broaden appreciation of unique stressors faced by gay and bisexual men

www.theguardian.com

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Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

Hi all! I have published the essay that these tweets were originally adapted from. I'd love for you to give it a read and share your thoughts! 🤗

@alexand_erleon

Alexander Leon

@alexand_erleon

5 years

I've been so inspired by all your responses that I decided to publish the original essay that my recent tweets were adapted from. I'm a bit nervous about publishing something so personal, but I hope it speaks to someone out there.❤️🏳️‍🌈

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