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Love wins 

7/27/2015

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Hi all!  I've been on a wee hiatus from BW, but will be back soon.  Meanwhile, enjoy this excellent guest post by my friend Stephanie, who is not only a terrific writer, but an ass-kicking attorney in New York.  (I asked if I could also describe her as a "really cute homo," and she said no.  But she is.  So there.)  Enjoy the post.   Love, BW


LOVE WINS
By Stephanie Rudolph

A week before the big Supreme Court decision officially legalizing gay marriage, my 89-year-old grandmother left me the following message on my cell phone: 

“Steffi, dear, I just returned from one of the most exciting workshops I have ever attended. It was about sexuality. And there was one section there that was quite meaningful about lesbians. And I don’t mean to intrude on your personal life but …this man was incredible. If you want me to share with you what I’ve learned, we could schedule something private at my house… He made some very stunning distinctions, and sexuality is not just intercourse! There’s a whole range of qualities involved in such a relationship that might interest you.”

Let’s leave aside the fact that a man conducted the most exciting workshop of my grandmother’s long career on the topic of lesbianism. (And rest assured that my grandmother, a Freudian psychotherapist, has attended her fair share of workshops). What bothered me most was that it has apparently only just dawned on Grandma that my sexual orientation might not only be about some primal urge to rub myself up against another woman. Remarkably, my grandmother has spent the better part of a decade believing that I haven’t yet made the “stunning distinction” between sex and love in “such” a relationship. I could see why she urgently felt a private session at her home in New Jersey might be in order.

Seriously, though, one of the toughest parts about coming out—especially to people in older generations—is the focus on sex.  For men, the notion that our little Johnny likes butt sex can prove particularly humiliating. For me, as a cis woman, coming out involved avoiding awkward glances or dealing with bizarre questions related to what exactly two women do together.

Unable to picture two women doing anything scandalous, even mildly homophobic or conservative parents seemed unfazed by my presence in their home. Where boyfriends were once relegated to the guest room over the holidays, twin beds were pushed together so that my partner and I could have some private “girl time.”

Presciently and sadly, Grandma’s voice message anticipated something that the rest of the nation was also on the brink of discovering: Identifying oneself as queer does not solely constitute an admission that you like a certain kind of sex. Gay people, like everyone else, fall in love. And some of them want to marry. It’s a simple concept, but it has taken a long time for popular culture to digest it.

As rainbow-painted faces popped up all over Facebook feeds in the days and weeks following the marriage decision, it seemed the world had become obsessed with gay love.  Acquaintances who had always a struck me as uncomfortable with queerness busted out in full rainbow attire, marched proudly in Pride, and enthusiastically tagged articles and photos with #lovewins.

But while the world celebrated gay love, I found myself fighting depression, selfishly focusing on open wounds from my last breakup. Despite having been single for more than six months, Pride triggered insecurities about my inability to find my one true love. In the absence of gay love (and lamentably, reliable gay sex), I still felt just as queer. But this Pride, I also felt isolated. Without love, what kind of gay was I?

Each year, Pride is a celebration of queerness in all its forms. It’s Dykes on Bikes. It’s couples. It’s transfolks. It’s kids and families.  It’s poly relationships. It’s being single and loving it. It’s gender non-conformity. It’s cross-dressing. It’s guys in leather. It’s dance parties.

As cheesy as it might sound, for the month of June, the queer community creates a space for me where queerness is not only tolerated but celebrated. But this Pride, I didn’t swell with pride. I just kept asking myself: are we prepared to celebrate queerness outside of love? Can people like my grandmother only embrace queerness if it fits neatly into a hetero-normative institution like marriage?

I should pause my diatribe for a moment and say that I am profoundly moved by the decision. I have shed tears watching images of gay couples in the deep South take advantage of the opportunity to share in the dignities (and indignities) of marriage. When traveling, I had always avoided developing relationships with other gay people, knowing I could never seek a fiancé visa for a prospective non-resident partner. And, when I lived with a woman some years ago in a state without gay marriage, she added me to her health insurance, only to find that the state and the federal government considered my coverage imputed income and penalized us to the point where I had to seek my own coverage. For both substantive and symbolic reasons, this decision represents a beautiful development, worthy of excitement, praise, and, of course, pride.

But people still find queerness outside of love a threatening notion. Most jurisdictions confer few protections on queer or trans workers. And even in states or cities that nominally protect queer and trans individuals from discrimination, in practice we face discrimination on a daily basis.

A few months ago, while shopping in an upscale store near Union Square in New York City shortly after buzzing my head, a man followed me around demanding to know whether I was a boy or a girl.  But I wouldn’t be surprised if my harrasser jumped on the bandwagon by posting a rainbow-overlaid photo of himself on Facebook. 

It makes sense that the world is excited about gay marriage. Who doesn’t love a big gay wedding? This pride though, I kept feeling like the world could only share in my “pride” in the context of a certain form of relationship. I kept watching the news, and obsessively refreshing Facebook seeking reassurance that even if I never march down the aisle of some Secular Humanist Church in a dapper white tux, the world would still swell with pride for me. This year, I didn’t get that assurance.



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pride project photo map

7/6/2015

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The Pride Project is up and running, and so far--thanks to YOU, dear readers--it's looking pretty awesome so far!  Check out the Pride Project photo map, let me know what you think, and keep your pictures coming.  The more people you share this with, the bigger it will be. 
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GAY MARRIAGE!  oh wait...  MARRIAGE!

7/2/2015

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One of my readers just shared this image from NYC Pride, and it seemed too jubilant not to share immediately.

As you all know, the Supreme Court decided a little under a week ago that all states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  I was really moved by the decision, which was more inclusive than I expected it to be, and it's been so interesting watching people's responses to it.  I learned about it when my partner woke me and said, "Hey!  We can get married anywhere now.  The Supreme Court legalized gay marriage."  I'm butch enough to admit that this brought tears to my eyes.  

Though there's plenty to say about the decision itself, what it does and doesn't do, and what this means for the future of LGBTQ people in America and beyond, today I just wanted to share a collection of responses I've gathered from LGBTQ Americans in response to the decision.  Some are from social media, some from face-to-face conversations.  But I thought the breadth of them might interest my beloved BW readers.

I don't want to get married but I am so stunned to finally have full civil rights that I'm still a little 'high.' When I came out 50 years ago, being gay was loathsome and illegal. I'm grateful for all the organizations that put in the work to create a culture change.

I really didn't imagine this would happen in my time. I cannot even imagine how all the seniors must feel. It saddens me to know that so many never got to freely love whom they wished. They're the real heroes.

I was way more emotional about it than I thought I would be. I just kept thinking that I finally wouldn't have to worry about whether or not I would be able to see my wife in the hospital or whether or not we could adopt each others' kids. Then I thought that it was kinda messed up that I was so happy that it was finally legal for me to have a family.
It was a joy, indescribable... To see years of activism, its fruition, and then to see many who have been dreaming, hoping, and thinking the day would never arrive within their lifetime, folks in their 60's, even 70's. That made those countless marching in the suffocating heat, sleepless nights planning , organizing... Someday, when I meet the right one, my soulmate, I can get on my knee, with the certainty that wherever I am, we can plan our wedding, our marriage... not just a bunch of legalities and notarized paperwork...

Told my sister I am so excited about the Supreme Court decision and she asked 'Which one?'  I felt like I was going to vomit, or like I was suddenly about two feet tall.
I felt so proud that we as a community helped make their dream, and mine come true by standing our collective ground telling this country... we have rights.  We're not asking for privilege; we're demanding rights [that are] rightfully ours. And this time, they listened.

My parents didn't seem to get what a big deal it was.  I told them and they were just like, yeah, okay.  I was like, how am I supposed to be close to people who can't realize how monumental this is. 
I took care of a friend the last year of her life.  She was 88. She told me stories. Terrible what she had to go through. She was kicked out of nursing school for a note she had written. The home she and her partner bought together was taken from her when her partner died. She was shunned from the family business, because she refused to marry. She's been gone 17 yrs now. She would be very happy.

It is a big victory, to be sure.  But it makes me sad that as an LGBT movement, marriage is what we have chosen to focus on.  We used to be radicals. Now we are excited to be just like everyone else?
I'm happy about the decision, but now my mom and stepdad will be on me more than ever to get married and have kids like my siblings, and that is not the life I necessarily want!  I love my partner and maybe will marry her eventually, but I am just a different kind of person and don't want the same life.  The marriage decision doesn't prevent me from feeling less valid in their eyes.

The decision was all about couples, couples, couples.  What about the fact that in a lot of states, we can still be fired for being gay?

Married to my wife in FL and loving every second... I am 48 and never thought I'd be this happy!
Marriage... is a washed out concept in my opinion. Having the same rights is what is important.
This isn't, and never really was, about gay people being able to marry.  Its about telling our young lgbt people that they are finally accepted and respected.  It's about choice and it truly is a wonderful time to be gay and out.
I was struck with emotion I didn't expect. My partner of 14 years and I probably won't get married... but to feel "equal" or even a part of the "norm,"is something of unexpected joy. To have that choice is amazing.

This means everything to me, as my wife and I are expecting our first baby in December. We are in California (married 2 years ago yesterday). Her entire family is in Texas, so whenever we've visited Texas since we've been married, I've reminded myself "we're not actually married when we're here." Because of the Supreme Court decision, we can travel to Texas with our child and be recognized as a family just as we are in California, and our child will never live in a world where their moms' marriage only exists in some states.

I'm still getting all teary-eyed thinking about all this...  I mean, I know we have a LONG way to go before we have achieved true equality across-the-board... but still, this is so much farther than I ever dreamed we would get when 30 yrs ago this-here spikey-haired dykey 19-yr-old gave a ring to my then-girlfriend, and wished like hell that such a thing as marrying her was even possible.

So there you have it, dear readers--a sampling of the breadth of the LGBTQ response to the ruling.  Thanks to everyone who wrote to me with their thoughts.  I hope that regardless of your take on it, you're getting a chance to bask in this victory a little, in whatever way is meaningful to you.
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