Apparently now that Iām not in school anymore Iām all about giant long-form comics.Ā
Identity is a really important topic to me, and the trope of āfinding yourselfā is almost as problematic and insulting to me as the trope of ācoming outā.Ā
I want to destroy the idea that some identities are less valid than others, the condescension that comes with ātheyāre just figuring themselves outā, and the insulting dismissal of identity exploration and performance in youth as being somehow not ārealā, or as āattention seekingā. Fuck all of that.Ā
And beyond the fact that Ā āinconsistentā identities are really challenging socially,Ā theyĀ ALSO carry these real, actual life and liberty risks; weāre expected to use the same name, orientations, values, languages, and identities across all aspects of our lives, we are expected to have normative identities that can be quantified and qualified and trust me, TRUST ME Ā when a person is perceived asĀ havingĀ inconsistent or unusualĀ identities they are being flagged in all sorts of systems for extra scrutiny and action. I know this from experience.Ā
So, yeah, this āone true identityā, this āfinding yourselfā, this āwho is the real youā stuff is bullshit. We are so, so much more interesting than that, and we deserve better.
This is very important to me as someone whose identity has changed a lot over the years - and I donāt just mean gender or sexuality, I mean everything. I am a totally different person than I used to be, and the world canāt really handle that. Iām not interested in my āprofessionā the way I used to be, and want to do something else. My hobbies has changed, dress sense, opinions on things like piercings, smoking, alcohol. Everything changes. Get over it.