Columns

I’m sure many of us have noticed that queer columns often plumb archives of feeling which include anger, sadness or pride, or some combo of these. Which is fair enough, I think, since queer/trans people have lots to be angry, sad, and proud about. However, for this column I thought I’d lead with a different kind of feeling: gratitude.

I want to single out awesome people who make my (queer) life possible.

First, I wanted to say thanks to the visibly queer people who make the streets safer for me to walk on every day. Often I feel like I stick out, so it can be hard to walk past a group of bored teenagers or drunk students. That’s why it’s awesome to have others who queer public space just by being there; the gyrls with shaved heads and pierced noses, the bois with super tight jeans, cravats and lip gloss, the genderqueers and androgynous folks who make people look twice, the gay boys holding hands, the butches in hot boots. Not only do I feel a sense of safety in numbers, you are also generally hotter than anyone else.

Thanks to all the volunteers in the queer/trans community in Dunedin and NZ wide. The organisers of parties, the people who work in the community or as online bloggers and activists, the educators. Thank you to the folks who run youth groups, or open up their homes and let people in. I am grateful that people in queer and trans communities volunteer so often, and I know sometimes the thank yous can be slow in coming.

Thanks to allies. Our hetero and cis-gendered friends, family, and lovers. The self-identified fag-hags, trans-hags, and les-bros: thanks for standing up for us, so we don’t have to defend ourselves ad nauseam. Thanks for thinking about hetero/cis sexism. Thanks for calling other people out on their dumb shit so I don’t have to. Thanks to the staff on campus who have joined the Otago University Queer Friendly Staff Network. Thanks to accepting Christians, Muslims, and people of other faiths who make it possible for queer/trans folk to continue our spiritual practices. Most of all, thanks for getting that sometimes many of us do talk about queer stuff a lot, and thanks for understanding that we do it because many of us don’t get a fair go.

And thanks to Critic – for creating space for queer and trans issues this year. <3 La Dida xxoxxx!