Results for: representation
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Learning to Use Chopsticks: Coming Out as Korean-American
“At 27, I came out as Korean-American. I was always Korean, of course. I checked the “Asian” box when filling out a form. My ethnicity was written on my face in the shape of my eyes and my small flat nose. But until a few years ago, it wasn’t an identity I felt connected to. There were many identities that came first — poet, bisexual, queer, feminist, activist, organizer, fattie, vegan. Being Korean was a fact, but not an identity.”
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Me, Piper Chapman, the Psych Ward, and the Incarcerated 2.2 Million
“Real human change requires space to be honest with yourself, honest with others; a space that doesn’t exist when you’re trapped by necessity behind a fortress of self-protection. As the inmate Poussey in Orange replies when a correctional officer pressures her to speak openly during a group therapy session: “Does it ever occur to you that actually feeling our feelings might make it impossible to survive in here?”
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La Virgen de Guadalupe: Brown Goddess in My Heart Forever
La Virgen de Guadalupe has always been dear in my heart and always will be, but the way I view her has changed throughout the years, through various lenses with different interpretations, including now as a queer woman.
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Butch Glam: Let’s Broaden What “Black” In Relation to “Female” Can Mean
I am not crazy; I am simply black, and queer, and butch, and transcultural, and therefore alone.
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Misadventures in Queer Lady Dating While Disabled: It’s Not Me, It’s You
“Given the message of acceptance and sex positivity that the queer community so openly espouses, I was hopeful that I had finally found a niche where my sexuality would be respected and validated. To my dismay, passive discrimination was alive and well.”
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A Prairie Homo Does New York: Gratitude
Who was I to even want these things that I wanted? Who was I to ask for them? I was open, naked: This is me. This is what I want. I need your help.
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Fifty Shades of White
Having the blessing – or curse – of lighter skin is a double edged sword. I never gave much thought to the idea that society needs positive cultural images of minorities until I came to embrace my Hispanic heritage and come out of the closet.
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Transitioning While Genderqueer (Despite the Standards of Care)
“It would have been nice to share my entire truth with her, but because of the Standards of Care, I didn’t; I feared my story would be seen as diverging from the typical trans* narrative too much.”
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Femmes: Beyond Lipstick (and Heels and Dresses)
Sometimes you just want a role model.