The lived experiences that make people who they are as individuals, is exactly why we are friends. So I always respect the way a person wants sraised and loves their life, it manifests on many levels, and I respect and am unafraid of naming them, as best I can.

I have both male and female friends.

This is a necessary distinction when it comes to how we interact and how they fit into my life - and this whole identity elimination is annoying.

By not making distinctions, it's as though there's shame in our differences. I have male friends I adore, but I also understand there are different boundaries with them. We don't lie on the bed together looking at old photos of us in high school, for example. It's just different and that's okay, as well as it's okay to say so.

Both

I have both and I refer to them by name not their gender or sexual preference.

Like saying I'm not friends with blondes or brunettes or fat people or skinny people? Just people.