Pride oof here you are again... I’ve always had difficulty during pride season, maybe because it seems like optics are hyped more than ever and as someone whose queerness has been and continues to be largely invisible to most others - celebrations centered around the aesthetics of it all can be extremely anxiety inducing and leave me feeling like a failure or an imposter. I’m still downright terrible at correcting people who get my pronouns wrong, largely because there’s never enough air to get the words out and then the moment is gone, but many times because I’m aware that visibility STILL does not guarantee safety and indeed many times invites danger... I learned this multiple times harassed to the point of threats and danger after declaring my queerness in public spaces in my early twenties... dangerous strangers... watching the way our country is treating Trans folks today makes it very hard to feel “proud”... It’s hard not to receive the blaring message that we are still viewed as “other” and an anomaly... it’s strange to feel this commercial push to show great pride in parts of me that are not a choice but just the way i was created, and it does a disservice to those who don’t have the space or safety to declare what they know to be true about themselves... for me pride comes from taking action more than just being... I am proud to have gathered community, to have supported other younger lgbtq folks, to continue to push for queer representation in art... Pride is action, it is rebellion, it is a fight, it is perseverance... it is not whatever Target or any other store is selling in rainbow colors this month. And to any and all who cannot be visible this month, who are not ready, who don’t feel safe, I am proud of YOU, for persevering, for surviving, you are in and of yourself an act of beautiful rebellion 🙏💖🌈 and above all, my ability to make statements like this in a public space, is the result of the hard won fights of those queer ancestors who came before me but above all the fights of black and brown Trans Women 🙏💖 📸 @matt_kallish 💄 @alexandrabayless