Rainbow Bagel Overlord

So I really put on my brave face today and was Trans in a Public Space! Which felt incredibly freeing!!

I cannot do this back in good old rural-land USA. I think my sock dick would’ve been clocked and gotten me hatecrimed, but in the city there’s just beautiful apathy. This general experience did make me realize however, that when some suburban and urban queers talk about not needing to be loudly queer, or when some ‘allies’ say that there isn’t a need for pride anymore, that they might just be ignorant of the realities of being queer anywhere other than a city.

I’ve heard so many homophobic and transphobic comments from co-workers, folks at the grocery store, and random people in the middle of the street, and I am genuinely afraid sometimes that if I go too far outside my little Main Street that I might not make it back to my apartment. And all that is with just looking butch. For not performing femininity ‘correctly’.

No matter what random ass people on the internet say, we still need pride, because for every loving community, there are three more that would rather me burn at the stake than live to an old age. We still need pride, because for every supportive parent, there’s another that would rather kick their child out instead of letting them live authentically.

We need to celebrate queer joy because queer pain is almost universal in our community. We need parades with crowds of thousands to remind us that we are not alone.

First, the art is great