Arguments against LGBTQ+ rights are just straight up ridiculous when you replace the stance with a heterosexual example. One common viewpoint is the idea that sexuality is just a phase because you're "too young" to know what you want. I remember kids teasing each other in fourth grade because they had a crush on someone with cooties. Surely a fourth grader who believes in cooties is too young to take crushes seriously. So why is it when they grow up and continue to like the opposite gender, why isn't it called a phase? At what point is it no longer just a phase?

There is definitely a point in our lives where we start learning who we are. That period even extends into our college careers. However, it's almost as if people believe that 99% of the community are teens who are still finding their identities, that queer people over the age of 18 don't exist.

"They just don't know what they're talking about."

"It's just a phase. They'll grow out of it."

"They're still young. They just haven't found the right person."

So when do people grow out of heterosexuality? At what age should we be absolutely sure about our sexuality?

There were queer couples who have been together for decades waiting for the day they were finally able to marry in the United States. There are people who've always felt that they were attracted to the opposite gender. There is an entire community dedicated to these people.

If sexuality really was something temporary, there wouldn't be flags, symbols, and entire community behind the acronym LGBTQ+. The high school girl who blushed as her crushed walked by with his effortless charm isn't any different than the boy who felt the same way about that same guy. It wasn't a phase then, and it isn't a phase now.