Lesbian

I name myself “lesbian” because this culture oppresses, silences, and destroys lesbians, even lesbians who do don’t call themselves “lesbians.” 
I name myself “lesbian” because I want to be visible to other black lesbians. 
I name myself “lesbian” because I do not subscribe to predatory/institutionalized heterosexuality. 
I name myself lesbian because I want to be with women (and they don’t all have to call themselves “lesbians”). 
I name myself “lesbian” because it is part of my vision. 
I name myself lesbian because being woman-identified has kept me sane. 
I call myself “Black,” too, because Black is my perspective, my aesthetic, my politics, my vision, my sanity. 
(“New Notes on Lesbianism” 1983)

I saw this in an anthology and thought...this is what I want to say. In light of the new administration, I feel like visibility is more important than it was before. Its easy to be visible when everyone loves you. Not so easy when the VP thinks that people like you should be electrocuted.

I'm very visible in my life.
I think its important. I always have. 
When I was engaged in being an ally, I had a shirt that said "Gay? Fine by me" and matching suede New Balances (yea...it was a while ago lol)

But now... I think visibility is so important in light of the potential for the government to try very hard to take rights away from people like me. 

What I've learned is that people fear what they don't know. If you don't know a gay person, you may think of me as all these negatives.

There's nothing like having a person know you, like you, enjoy your company, and then have to reconcile what they believe about homosexuality with the person they actually know. 

My young adult pastor's wife actually told me that she was going to have to go pray about homosexuality after I came out to her because she "knows I know God is a deep in powerful way so if you feel this is true for you, I need to wrap my mind around it."

That's change. 
That's what being visible can do. 

So yea, I will be bold. 

I will still be visible because the more people who realize that a gay person is really important to them, that a gay person believes in marriage in the very same or, as is often the case with me, a more profound way than they do they will stand up for our rights with us.

People need people. 
So yes, I'm a Black girl. 
I'm a friend.
I'm a daughter.
I'm a student and a teacher.
I'm a scientist.
I'm a sister.
I'm an alumni.
I'm a devout Christian.
I'm a PhD.
I'm a god mom.
I'm a lesbian.
I'm all of these things all the time.
Accept me in the totality of who God made me to be.
My presence is a gift.