Yes, the "leave other people out of it" is a good principle. That sucks about your friends who didn't want to subscribe to that particular niche practice. Wankers. (not your friends)

And, hm, it seems to me like those freshly-out dykes that shave women's symbols into their (buzzcut) hair and drip with labrys jewellery - "proving" oneself that way looks a lot like insecurity from my perspective.