Just a reminder that this happened.
I am writing to you today to say your humanity — your individuality, your sense of self-worth, the life experiences that bring you to your next inhale, the way you chew with your mouth open, the way you own your truths (or don’t) — matter far more than how conveniently you fit into an economic system that was created to oppress you. So with that statement in mind, I invite you to try failing.
Week Twenty-five: To give you a sense of my recent paranoia, here is what I Googled just this weekend: Can my maternity support belt be too tight? (Verdict: no.) Am I leaking amniotic fluid? (Verdict: no.) Am I having Braxton Hicks contractions, or is it the baby balling up? (Verdict: probably the former, but it’s totally normal). Should I be concerned that my fundal height didn’t change from 20 to 22 weeks? (Verdict: no. It’s still within the realm of normal and even a full bladder could affect the measurement).
I choked, literally and figuratively, because swimming is apparently not like riding a bike. I dog paddled for about 15 minutes until a child jumped into my lane and started showing me up with his legit swim strokes.
A few weeks ago we learned that this will be Lumberjanes’ co-writer Noelle Stevenson’s final run as a writer on the book (at least for now) and boy howdy, did she decide to go out on a doozy.
The most important takeaway from this film was that each of the featured participants are actively stretching the concept of what butch is so that young women that actually watch the film can see themselves in the community, especially if they are currently in a place where no one looks like them or expresses gender like them.
I want to celebrate the femme/butch history that defines lesbianism for so many women in our community without feeling like my own queer family expects me to perform gender in a particular way. I feel like a woman enough of the time, but I don’t connect with so many of the things womanhood is “supposed” to mean. I’ve never felt as right in the world as I did the night I spilled gold glitter eye makeup on my necktie. I want to be that alive all the time.
Why would I do this? Why wouldn’t I do it.
