All LGBTQ+ people deserve and need thinking and social spaces, that are more than just drinking spaces. Many people feel excluded from Pride and as a result don’t always feel connected to the political and social networks we all need
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.
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.
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.
My sexuality is not a phase. I am who I am.
On this day that is set aside for us to celebrate what and whom we have in our lives, I want you all to know that you’ve been a huge part of mine and I am thankful for the two years I’ve had getting to know, learning from, and growing with this community.
My early goals involved simply seeing if my business idea would interest anybody. Were there other people out there who had trouble picking just one thing? Could we really build a community of people determined to build lives around our MANY passions?
Let’s be real, these essays urge us. Let’s roll up our sleeves and do the work that needs to be done.
