Identity

I'm coming out!
I’ve never felt the need to “come out.” Let me back up and introduce myself: My name is Sara and I identify as pansexual. Now, for those of you who I’ve met and known “offline”, in particular, I’m willing to bet that there’s at least a few of you who assumed otherwise. And many who’ve never really considered it. If that’s the case, I want to start with 2 things:
By Ember5 years ago in Pride
Cheers to the Truth
When I saw this challenge, I was excited because I love music and felt I could create a great playlist, potentially even win a prize, but I didn’t know that I would in fact win, before I even submitted. Here I am writing with tears down my face because all these anthems I have listened to over the years have empowered me and wrapped me in a hug of acceptance I never knew I needed.
By Cristina Isabel5 years ago in Pride
We're All Just Pink
Crimson and Clover by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts It’s 2010, and Kristen Stewart is starring in The Runaways, a biopic about the eponymous all-female rock band from the late seventies. You’re a preteen, the Twilight franchise has awakened the rabid fangirl within you, and you’ve been following Stewart’s career because she’s got such a cool, mysterious vibe, I just think she’s really interesting. You research the band behind the film and discover Joan Jett, the real-life rock star inspiring Stewart’s on-screen role.
By R. S. Gonzalez5 years ago in Pride
Songs From My Queer Life That Speak To Me
Dancing Queen - ABBA "Dancing queen, only seventeen" ABBA is a key band to include on any LGBT playlist. While their lyrics may not exactly describe queer experiences, they have always been icons. This is partly contributed to their out of the box, 'campy' style. The use of the term "Queen" in the song can also easily be interpreted as the queer term originally used to refer to a flamboyant, effeminate gay man.
By Theo Randall5 years ago in Pride
Tapes recorded in my bedroom
When I was fifteen, my friend William taught me how to cover the tab openings of an old cassette tape to record over it. It was 2011, and there was no particular reason for me to be making tapes other than the illusion of coolness that came from using vintage technologies, my indulgence in nostalgia for a time before I was even born. At this point in my life, I was just beginning to figure out my own identity, and walking around Atlanta with my headphones on (savoring the tape's low hiss that whispered underneath the music) allowed me to construct fantasies in my head in which I was free from my spatial, temporal, and physical realities. I spent countless hours making mixtapes, and each mixtape was the soundtrack of a different life I led in my dreams. In these dreams, I cut off all my hair, played baseball while the sun set, drove through the city with a girl I had a crush on. I was rugged and boyish and untouched by shame.
By X X5 years ago in Pride
Write What You Don’t Know
Listen As You Read Learning how to write what you’re unsure about. It is an exercise in self discovery. “Write what you know” is an epitaph etched into the gravestone souls of every budding high school writer from the get go.
By Cereal Oatmeal 5 years ago in Pride
Proud To Be Pride
I’ve been proud and very loud for many years now, spending my days telling jokes on stage about what it means to me to be a part of the Pride community. But I didn’t always lead with it out on my sleeve. Once upon a time I was nervous and cautious about who I told, effectively spending years in the closet, even though everyone knew.
By Diana McLaren5 years ago in Pride
(not) what you want me to be
I am the kid trans and cis folks don’t want to deal with I have changed my name at least eight times, and each one is/is not correct
By mx. j. nyla mcneill5 years ago in Pride
seafoam ode to my performed gender
seafoam ode to my performed gender at once you foam, then break open. you are the sea, the sea air open- -ing, white froth glint, the light resting inside. the light bursting inside. you are when * the ocean breathes, oh briny more than skin, than lungs, than heart. at once you are all and none. the crest of my tongue laps with you. enter trough and burst * inside. become my blood. your power lies in shift- -ing states, your form at once crystal, once sky, once water, once body. no words can hold you off. you are dimly colorless, yet * infinitely golden. become my blood. oh form as foam as body filled with air, enter. bubble saltwise and burst into * my power, the white froth glint, the resting light inside my shifting shapes.
By Joe Nasta | Seattle foodie poet5 years ago in Pride
Grey
“I don’t think you’re asexual,” he said with a smirk. Just another man sitting across from me. I’d heard this comment, or variations of it, before. I took a sip of my coffee and placed the mug on the table. What he meant: how could I be asexual if I had sex with him?
By Joe Nasta | Seattle foodie poet5 years ago in Pride
Simon's Friend
Despite the homophobic names being hurled at him, the boys of Hillrain Academy weren't actually scared of Simon Finner. In fact, Simon's gentle nature and quiet disposition emboldened the likes of Charlie Dull and his overgrown followers to bully him even more.
By Michael Brennan5 years ago in Pride
Songs for B
I felt the moment I met you I was done for. Like two passing ships in the night, we hurtled into each other. We could have died like that. Together in the water.
By Mrs.Cohen5 years ago in Pride