In his latest “Straight Nonsense” column for Out.com, Moises Mendez II questions the growing intrusion of straight culture into queer spaces. Mendez originally planned to write only about “the insanity of straight culture,” but a weekend experience at a Brooklyn party called BearMilk, a space for mostly Black and brown bears and their admirers, shifted his focus. He writes, “Straight people need to learn to read social cues and understand when they are not welcome in queer spaces.”
He describes a group of seemingly straight young people who entered the event, gawking and standing awkwardly among patrons in their underwear as they made out and danced. Their presence, he says, “felt like a violation.” While some attendees shrugged it off, Mendez argues that true allyship means respecting boundaries and “Entitlement does not go far in the queer community…There is more than enough space for us to share with people who want to be in community, but don’t pull a Trump — force your way in and refuse to leave.” His challenge to mostly straight men to traditional queer culture spaces has received dramatic social media responses and comments, especially in Reddit.
