r/lesbiangang•
Riksor

How do you cope with the feeling of disconnect from broader LGBT+/etc community?

Question/Advice

My coworkers are all LGBT+. I think there's genuinely only one straight, cis person on the team. Despite that, I just feel so 'different' and 'othered' compared to them... They are united by a lot of similarities, but I don't watch the same stuff they do, I don't read fanfiction, I don't enjoy drag, I have some divergent values/beliefs, their humor is different than mine, they're mostly much louder and more outgoing than I am, etc. They're all very kind people, but I just feel like I can't fit in with them. I'm the only lesbian and the only straight cis guy fits in better than I do.

I should perhaps have kinship with other sapphics/bi women, but, again, a lot of them are just so into anime men and male celebrities and yaoi and stuff, and when I'm unable to match that energy, I can feel the enthusiasm die. When I've tried to talk about great lesbian media (like recently, Pluribus... Go watch it, it's incredible) as a more 'shared' point of interest, I sense a lack of enthusiasm from them, too, so I drop it.

I should have kinship with other women, perhaps. There's a huge concept of 'sisterhood' and 'womanhood' as a community, but I don't have a lot in common hobbies-wise with many of the women I've met. And a lot of them, again, are straight and center romance and male celebrities in their life. I feel like such a wet sponge when I can't 'back them up' on something.

To be clear: I do have straight women, bi women, etc who are friends, and I'm friendly with my coworkers, but there's just this 'block' that feels like I'm on the other side of. The closest friends I've made happen to be straight/bi cis men, which further 'others' me. Some people in the lesbian community think that's a betrayal and 'centering maleness' in my life, some straight women think it's 'slutty' somehow, and, of course, some other straight men are cruel, misogynsitic and weird about a woman having male friends, etc. And I love the friends I have, but it would be nice to feel more connected with lesbian women.

So, I think, maybe I would feel a lot of kinship with a specific lesbian community? I like this sub and similar online spaces, but I still feel like an outsider on the popular lesbian subs. IRL is probably different, but I haven't ever naturally met another cis lesbian IRL. It just hasn't happened. Are lesbians super rare? There is a lesbian group in my city but it's only for older lesbians, so I can't really attend their events or anything yet.

This is from a post here a month ago: "I feel so connected to other lesbians, and even to queer people in general. The sense of community has literally kept me going, helped me grow, and allowed me to become who I am. I’m so grateful for that."

I feel so glad for that poster, but, man, I don't feel that at all, even though I wish I did. And I'm assuming I'm not alone in this disconnect. How do you all feel this? How do you cope with it?

Posted Dec 6, 2025, 6:25 PM UTC

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