When someone in our family says something is weird, the response is usually, "like asparagus?"
It stems from when my soon-to-be mother-in-law was hosting a barbecue for my family. She asked if my mom had any dietary restrictions.
My mom said, "I'll eat anything. As long as it's nothing weird like asparagus."
This may seem innocuous, but it points to a bigger mindset problem around identifying things matter-of-factly as "weird."
We say things are weird when we are unfamiliar or disinterested or have an aversion or are trying to disassociate ourselves.
When we say something is weird, we're judging, stating our disapproval, unwittingly displaying our ignorance, our lack of curiosity, exposure, and fluency.
Depending on the context, when we say things are weird we may be upholding the narrative of the privileged majority. We may be otherizing, oppressing, or marginalizing.
Here are a few things I once thought were weird:
Asparagus
Guacamole
Cream cheese
African or Asian food
Having Black friends
Homosexuality
Transgender people
Listening to world music
Not being interested in sports
College-aged people who didn't drink
Talking about politics
Meditating
Empathy
Compassion
Vulnerability
Nonviolent communication
Personal growth
None of that's weird to me anymore. Weird that I used to think so though, huh?