emerson barrett is a literal sweetheart and i have proof and firsthand experience
so the other night (10/28/18) i went to the palaye royale concert in denver. really good show, they’re really energetic, remi didn’t climb anything bc the venue had no places to climb and it was so sad but that’s besides the point
after the show i’m waiting on my ride home, i go around to the side of the venue where their bandwagons were parked and waited, and about 15 minutes later emerson walks out!! i joined a group of people and went over to meet him, we all got pics with him, it was cool
(blocking out half my face bc i look like a Literal trashcan and tbh the flash didn’t really do em much justice either,, i hate taking pics with the flash on but hey it’s not my fault he chose the Darkest Part Of The Block to take pics)
after that a few of us took the chance to tell him thanks for what he does and whatnot, and he gave hugs to everyone who did that
“i just wanna say, too: you guys, i mean, you and remington specifically have helped me a lot with my confidence with how yall wear makeup so unapologetically, it’s given me the courage to wear makeup and feel good about it and, yknow! still be in touch with my feminine side and still be a trans boy!!”
and omg, he smiled so big as i said that. he pulls me in for a hug and says “awww man, i love you, i support you, im here for you, you’re awesome!” (or something along those lines, as soon as he hugged me and said he loved me i had to take some of my attention away to Not Cry)
he talked for a minute about how we’re taught to Not Be Proud Of Who We Are and things like that, again, hard to recall bc i was trying not to cry,, then he said “makeup is so fun tho! it’s just like, painting your face and making yourself look pretty!”
about 10 minutes later he had to go back to the bandwagon, and he gave us all another hug before he left. and i went back to where i was waiting for my ride and reeled in shock before crying a little bit. and i cried in school a couple times thinking about this. and when i wrote this out in an instagram post. and i’m about to cry as i write this.
it’s one thing hearing that someone you look up to supports a general community you’re in. it’s a REALLY different (and better!!!) thing when you hear it being said directly to you. like, i feel 200x better about myself and more supported and less alone in this whole Figuring Myself Out Thing bc of this experience, and it really made my entire year.
tl;dr em is hella supportive of the trans community he told me so himself and i stan