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The linked article about the root cause of homophobia in Palestine has nothing to do with BDS. Hamas being a far-right Islamist organization, that is homophobic, doesn’t justify the actions of Israel or the corporations that are complicit in their genocide. Israel’s right to defend itself isn’t a blank check to violate international law or commit crimes against humanity. The Palestinians aren’t represented by Hamas. So the fact Hamas is homophobic doesn’t mean all Palestinians are homophobic. Israel’s current government, which is fascist, is lead by Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s goals are preventing Palestinian statehood and staying out of prison. Netanyahu is not interested in freeing Palestinians or freeing queer Palestinians.

How so? Pinkwashing corporations that are complicit in Israel’s genocide and the Republican Party sound like shared antagonistic organizations to me.

The groups that want to take away the rights of gay men and queer people in general are the same groups that want to take away the rights of the Palestinians. Since we are in a shared struggle against the same organizations there is no dilution of effort in taking up each other’s causes. edit: typo

https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

Here is an excerpt from Project 2025 from page 481.

Protect faith-based grant recipients from religious liberty violations and maintain a biblically based, social science–reinforced definition of marriage and family. Social science reports that assess the objective outcomes for children raised in homes aside from a heterosexual, intact marriage are clear: All other family forms involve higher levels of instability (the average length of same-sex marriages is half that of heterosexual marriages); financial stress or poverty; and poor behavioral, psychological, or educational outcomes.

For the sake of child well-being, programs should affirm that children require and deserve both the love and nurturing of a mother and the play and protection of a father. Despite recent congressional bills like the Respect for Marriage Act that redefine marriage to be the union between any two individuals, HMRE program grants should be available to faith- based recipients who affirm that marriage is between not just any two adults, but one man and one unrelated woman.

Republicans view heterosexual marriages as superior to homosexual marriages. Republicans came for Roe v. Wade and they are going to come for Obergefell v. Hodges. Gay men aren’t done fighting for their rights no matter how old they are. Using intersectionality as a road map to allies in our fight for LGBTQ+ rights is essential. This includes the Palestinian people. Allowing ourselves to be divided plays right into the hands of the people who want to take our rights away.

https://femmagazine.com/feminism-101-what-is-pinkwashing/

Pinkwashing was first used to refer to companies that superficially supported breast cancer awareness. It has since been used to refer to companies that superficially support queer people. Given the context of the op’s article, pinkwashing or rainbow-washing could be used interchangeably. Using pinkwashing to refer to companies using the pink ribbon for disingenuous marketing campaigns is still a valid usage of the term.

This year, in part due to growing global support for Palestinians, an analysis of pinkwashing is on more people’s tongues than ever before. Ghanem and Koval both organize in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Out! Raleigh Pride, the city’s major pride event, agreed to join the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement for the first time this year. This week the organizers of Out! Raleigh Pride confirmed via email that they will give back funds the organization received from pro-Israel entities in order to become BDS compliant. That may make Raleigh the first major mainstream pride event in the U.S. to formally join the BDS movement.

Queer people should support the Palestinian people. Pinkwashing has become increasingly ridiculous. Corporations are signaling they support queer people and then donating to Republicans. Israel’s genocide isn’t improving the conditions of queer people anywhere or spreading tolerance of any kind. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be used as a wedge issue against the interests of the Palestinians when corporations have no interests upholding or forwarding the rights and aspirations of either group.

https://popular.info/p/these-25-rainbow-flag-waving-companies

I have social dysphoria and not body dysphoria. I’m not on HRT so I don’t have any experience with that aspect of transitioning. Here is the closest thing I’ve got. I pay $80 a month to play D&D at my local game store. I play a female character and I enjoy it when people get my characters pronouns correct, use her name, and are socializing with me in a way where they see me as a woman. This gives me piece of mind and I think it’s worth the cost I’m paying. That’s not a perfect comparison, but considering the difference in having piece of mind is to me I think you’re not overpaying.

As far as body image issues, I’m not too fussed about my appearance. As far as I’m concerned I’m beautiful. On the other hand, I constantly fret about whether I’m smart enough or if I will accomplish anything in my life. And I have an ego problem. I think this might be similar concerns that we both have, but we’re focused on different aspects of ourselves. I still would love to have boobs and it would be super cool if people clocked me as woman. I think the knowledge that people would see me as a woman is more satisfying to me than what I would actually look like. It would be an improvement, but I’m already rocking this man meat sack bod of mine. But I consistently worry about not measuring up to people in terms of intellect and accomplishments. I feel inadequate when I see people out performing me or when I see evidence that someone is smarter than me. It gets in the way of being friends with people and forming relationships.

I focus on believing in myself and make it clear to myself I’m good enough for me. But it’s an anxiety. I kind of learn to ignore it and focus on trying to do what I want. I remind myself it is ok if other people accomplish more than me or are smarter than me. And that modern concepts of intelligence are bogus anyway. It’s an ongoing process for me. My point is these anxieties about ourselves are something we have to manage and that our self-love has to be unconditional.

As far as other people treating us with dignity, I think people are going to be trying to crack that one long after we’re dead. We can’t wait for other people to treat us properly to be happy. I’ve found the more I divorce my opinion of myself from other peoples’ opinions the happier I’ve been. Also, recently it has helped to realize that even when someone isn’t treating me right, everyone is coming from a place of being a human person first and foremost.

I hope some of that was relevant and helpful. Let me know either way.

It’s like people from parallel universes are on the internet. They must call their version of Earth something else where they’re from. =p