Cecilia Miller is a lesbian love warrior and educator fighting for queer justice and ensuring every shade of the rainbow shines bright & bold!
Anyone can feel attached to or identify with a diversity of gender identities and/or sexual orientations. And as evermore definitions have been popularised over the years to embody the emotions and experiences of queer people, it can be hard to keep up.
If you are not totally absorbed in LGBTQ+ culture or the rainbow community, you may not appreciate these lesser-known sexual orientations and gender identities – most of which have a lack of representation in mainstream media.
One such term is minromantic, so we are going to define and cover what does minromantic mean, speak about the minromantic pride flag, and then provide some tips to help you become a better ally to minromantic people.
In this article we will cover...
What Does Minromantic Mean?
Minromantics are individuals who are romantically or sexually attracted to people identifying as masculine. It is an exclusive romantic attraction to people who are masculine in nature regardless of their gender presentation.
Minromantics experience this kind of attraction to individuals regardless of their gender identity and sexuality. It means that minromantic people might get attracted to masculine men, non-binary people, and women who are potentially masculine. Being minromantic does not mean one is attracted to men, but it means one is attracted to masculinity.
Minromantic individuals can therefore have an attraction for a non-binary individual or a woman who presents themselves in a masculine way. Conversely, minromantic people may fail to be attracted to men who present themselves as feminine. However, it is upon minromantics to decide what is masculine or not masculine to them.
Minromantic stands for someone who is attracted to an individual with masculine gender in nature. Minromantic people are likely to look for masculine people rather than feminine. It does not matter whether the person is a trans-male, male, masculine binary, or any other gender.
Anyone, whether male or female or a member of the LGBT community can be minromantic. Being minromantic does not make one any lesser of a certain gender. For instance, a minromantic individual will only care about how you present yourself regardless of your gender identity, or whether you are female or male.
If you are feminine, regardless of whatever gender you identify with, or your sexual orientation, a minromantic individual will not be attracted to you. However, if you present as masculine, regardless of your identity and orientation, minromantics might be attracted to you.
Minromantic Pride Flag Meaning
There are many different pride flags symbolizing most queer identities, so it should come as no surprise there is a flag for minromantic people to proudly fly.
The minromantic flag has five stripes. The center strip is three times bigger than the outer stripes. The top color is blue, followed by light blue, green, light blue, and the bottom stripe is blue. A blue teardrop shape with a small circle cutting out near the bottom is at the center of the middle stripe. A big heart lies over the flag, and the stripes are lighter outside the core.
Fandom designed the minromantic flag on 1st June 2021.
Minromantic Pride Day
Education, visibility, commemoration, and appreciation are all critical in promoting global acceptance and acknowledgment of queer identities and queer folx in general. And from experience, we know it is easier for queer people to talk to friends and loved ones – and to feel the love – when a worldwide day for them is observed. Not to mention it also helps foster awareness and increased sensitivities from society at large.
Sadly however a Minromantic Pride Day has not yet been designated. But that does not stop you from marking your calendar and doing something special (even if it’s just a social media post!) next pride month!
Or any other day of the year, to be honest.
Other Minromantic Information to Help You Be a Better Ally
Being an ally means that you support equal rights to everyone regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. To be a better ally to minromantic individuals, you have to be ready to fight inequality and call out any form of discrimination. A better ally will strive to make the world a better place for everyone who identifies as LGBTQIA.
No minromantic experience is identical to another. You can’t tell whether someone is minromantic by looking at them, observing their personality, or their physical aesthetic. None of these characteristics can provide a clue as to how a person identifies, and this is as true for minromantic individuals as it is for any gender or sexual orientation.
The first thing you should do as an ally to minromantic people is to believe them when they tell you about their identity. Don’t try to argue them out of it or make the mistake of thinking you could know more about how they feel than they do. It could also help if you worked on your mindset. Working on your attitude means you challenge your concept of gender, sexuality, and sex.
After all, if you have any issues with understanding minromantic people, the root cause is bound in your understanding of gender and sexuality – not theirs. Educating yourself (as you are by reading about what does minromantic mean?) is an excellent first step to increase your awareness and not make your lack of knowledge in this area a burden on them.
There aren’t any explicit rules or guidelines, but here are some thoughts on how you can be a better ally and support a loved one as you discover what it means to be minromantic.
Learn About Important Issues Affecting Minromantics
To be an ally to minromantics and any other person who identifies as LGBTQIA, you need to have a conversation with them. Learn about the issues they view as important by reading books, publications, listening to their podcasts, and supporting their businesses.
Be honest with yourself and ask relevant questions. Don’t just throw in questions for the sake of it, be mindful not to hurt them in the process. Also, try to avoid offensive words like “that’s so gay”. You might be hurting a minromantics feelings and end up preventing them from speaking up. It can be awkward not knowing what to say, but commenting on something sensitive can worsen the situation.
Words can be hurtful, so when you speak, let your comments encourage others and give them the courage to speak. It will enable them to be comfortable around you speak up. By so doing, you become a better ally to minromantics and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
You will also impact and bring change to how people interact in the future. Being a better ally starts with having the correct information about the LGBTQA community at large.
Use the Right Pronouns
When addressing someone, don’t assume their pronouns simply because you think they identify with a particular gender. Ask first before referring to them as “sir/ madam”, “him/ her”.
At the same time, when addressing a crowd, use pronouns that are gender neutral like “everyone”, “folks” instead of using “ladies and gentlemen”.
Keep Their Identity Confidential
Whether it’s family, friends, colleagues or classmates, you should be there to support the minromantics in your life and keep information about their identity confidential unless they’ve expressly given permission for you to speak about it. While some minromantics can be vocal about their identity, others are not yet ready to be labelled as such.
Being a better ally means being there for the minromantic friend, family, or partner in your life. The best you can do is understand them, give them space to explore who they are, have fun, and cheer them up when they are low.
Keep in mind that here is nothing wrong with them; it is just who they are. If minromantics decide to keep their identity confidential, you should be an ally and not go behind their back.
Validate Minromantic Identities
The best thing about being an ally to one community in the LGBTQIA+ collective is that it opens up your understanding to be an ally to everyone. When you stand up for anyone that’s marginalized or discriminated against, you learn to stand up for everyone in a sense.
Standing up for the minority communities means you’re validating their identity. Call for equality for everyone regardless of gender identity, sexual and romantic orientation.
If you have a family, friend, or partner that is minromantic, validate their identity. Make them feel loved and appreciated. It would help if you did not treat minromantics differently from other people. You should be able to accept their relationship choices regardless of who they choose.
Sometimes, they will be attracted to masculine men, other times, they’ll be in relationships with female or nonbinary individuals who present as masculine. Learn to accept their choices. Remember that it is upon minromantics to decide who they regard as “masculine”. Validate their identity by supporting and accepting their choices rather than making them feel out of place.
