Justin Nepa
The Importance of LGBTQ Inner-Equality
Updated: Feb 18, 2021

All you can see, hear, and notice, whether in the media, at home, or from a non-affirming religion, can weep inside. Left unidentified, the dangerous stereotypes people have been taught can badly impact their choices and lives. And LGBTQ mental health issues impact the entire community.
You may have heard about Queerphobia or fear and bias associated with LGBTQ. It is regarding hearing the term ‘gay’ utilized derogatorily or knowing about gender recognition and expression in unique ways.
Some people want to make differences in the fight for equality of the LGBTQ community. Moreover, they aim to help change all negative stereotypes regarding this community. The fight for changing everybody’s mind regarding the LGBTQ community is an internal fight you might be encountering with yourself. If you start to remove the layers, you can unveil the common impacts of heteronormativity.
Let’s understand more about internalized Queerphobia and the importance of identifying it!
About Internalized Queerphobia and the Importance of Addressing It
Internalized Queerphobia is when people get shameful messages subconsciously they learn as kids regarding what it means to be LGBTQ. After internalizing, it becomes shaming an individual who carries about himself, others, or the entire LGBTQ community – subconscious or conscious. It can be safely said that young individuals have possibly internalized a shameful message regarding being LGBTQ at some point in time.
In case an individual encounters shame or guilt, they may look for punishment subconsciously. That could appear like several things, but incorporates self-deprecating behavior, substance abuse, unhealthy relationships, and unhappiness. For individuals who are LGBTQ, the impacts of guilt or shame are sometimes even more dangerous because of the time spent at home.
Numerous LGBTQ people constantly struggle with different types of social stigma and harassment, which are related to mental health issues. This shame related to social stigma is directly attached to the LGBTQ community’s higher levels of anxiety, depression, use of substances, and suicide than their Cisgender and heterosexual counterparts.
No matter how expressive an LGBTQ individual is internalized guilt or shame can still impact somebody in case the persons do not keep cautious watch over their beliefs, actions, feelings, and thoughts.
How to Defeat Internalized Queerphobia
The spiritual growth is not so much regarding trying to understand as much as it is regarding unlearning. During the procedure of unlearning, people should become desirous to be uncomfortable and ask themselves critical questions. The procedure of unlearning is constant. It is moreover a journey of development, not perfection. As such, the part of healing internalized shame, in all its forms, is for people of the LGBTQ community to ask themselves personal questions constantly.
While it is necessitous to hold in your heart in the development the LGBTQ community has made, as somebody who is committed to healing LGBTQ mental health issues like internalized Queerphobia for future generations, it should be also your choice to name the person work every one of us can do for making LGBTQ inner-equality. And asking questions help enhance the awareness level and make the belief system broad.