Week 4 – Wednesday
Releasing Internalized Oppression
When the hotel manager asks you, with a smile…reason or your stay

Internalized Oppression is: Hesitating to say you’re in town to celebrate your wedding anniversary.
Two women…one king size bed…what will they think?
Silence it: Practice deciding ahead of time what you’ll do and how.

Let’s face it, coming out is not a “one and done” action. For queer people, this is a decision we make over and over and over.

In some cases, it can reduce anxiety to get on the same page with your partner, figure out what’s comfortable for each of you, and decide how you’ll handle certain situations.

You gonna show up as sisters or lovers?
There’s no right or wrong answer here.

Talk about safety issues. Talk about your fears. Talk about how to support each other.
And then do what’s best for YOU.

You could even do some role playing and have some fun with it.
One of you can be the “judgy” hotel clerk and the other can be the sassy queer!
Relieve your anxiety by having a good laugh.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Have you ever been a little uncomfortable checking in for a romantic stay somewhere?
I certainly have!

IMPORTANT NOTE
I want to make a distinction between Internalized oppression vs. self-care in the face of oppression.

As a queer person, there will be situations in which your safety is legitimately at risk and you’ll do something you normally wouldn’t like not correcting someone who assumes you’re straight or giving a less-than-honest answer to someone who doesn’t feel safe; THIS IS TOTALLY LEGIT.

I’m talking about situations in which your safety is not at risk and you just feel uncomfortable because your queerness is not the “norm” and you fear being judged because of it. These are usually situations in which YOU are uncomfortable with your queerness.
THAT’S WHAT WE WANT TO RELEASE!