Made By Constellations

P A P E R

Yule "log" for tomorrow ♥️

So I have things to say about this. I am Canadian, and this doesn't affect us, but I was part of this organization for 13 years in the Canadian branch.

When I was around 16, I was in Rangers, at a camp. I remember sitting there with the younger girls, and one girl in that group coming out as gay and polyamorous.

I remember being so happy. My parents are polyamorous (me too, I didn't know that then), and I identified as bi (now pan). So did my mom.

I talked about it too. I talked about my experiences. I shared and made connection.

Later I was dragged into the kitchen by one of the leaders of my Ranger group. She told me talking about being gay was too mature for the younger girls and I shouldn't talk about it. That it wasn't a conversation I could have.

That night I remember sitting in my sleeping bag, listening to the other girls in my Ranger unit. They were playing a very adult game of never have I ever. I remember sitting there wondering why that was okay, but me being gay wasn't.

After I left Girl Guides, in part because of that experience, I wanted things to get better. I was happy when we began to include trans women - it was a much further step than the silence I was forced into.

And now, they're going backwards again.

This is exclusion disguised as inclusion. This is harm disguised as protection. If you're a trans young girl, now you can't go to boy scouts or girl guides - it's unsafe in both.

And I fear we will continue sliding backwards into the not so long ago days of MY youth. When grace was said at meetings, when queerness was silenced.

I promise to do my best,

Be true to myself, my beliefs, and Canada.

I will take action for a better world,

And respect the guiding law.

And it goes together really well with the first one! I'm going to knit a cowl with them all when I'm done.

I decided to make myself an Advent calendar out of fibre, most of which is a sampler pack. I have 7 bags plus some extra cream, and I'm spinning one every few days so I can make a cowl on Christmas.

Here's bag one! It turned out so squishy and I'm excited to spin the rest of them!