Hear my soul speak

I had one parent who had to be Right and Know Everything all the time, and one parent who, very intentionally, admitted when she didn't know things and would help me find out if she knew where to look (before the internet).

she's a gender nonconforming woman. she's also plus size, this makes her very curvy.

though i wouldn't talk for her, we both experienced acquaintances of her (sometimes strangers we meet at functions) asking her why she won't get top surgery. we get a lot of insinuations that she might not even be a woman because she dresses so masculinely & doesn't perform the "traditionally" expected woman roles in society.

but she won't budge. she's actually really proud of her body. she's proud of her curves, her hips & her chest. she's proud of the body she was gifted & no amount of external social conditioning can convince her that she needs to transition in order for her identity to "make sense".

we marched together on pride, she held our labrys flag, and proudly proclaimed her lesbian identity.

i think it's beautiful-- and i think a lot of GNC women and girls, who feel pressured by society to perform femininity "or else", can learn from her lifelong experience of being a GNC adult woman.

if i ask her what she wants to say to all of you, it is this:

"you don't have to be beautiful, you don't have to make sense, you don't have to be anything but you. you're a female, so be a proud one."

A young couple reunites after a period of long-distance relationship. Tunis, Tunisia. 2023.