Tucson's Pride Festival is in September and the small community we live near "doesn't do pride," or so we were informed which meant we had to make our own. So we are.
Arizona really is a melting pot of thoughts and feelings. So far we have felt no animosity. Each one of us has a story of acceptance. My favorite is Ryan's. He went to a small artist community south of us and discovered the joys of cowboy shopping. He came home with a hat that made his head look way too small, a shirt that had so much shiny embellishment you had to wear sunglasses if you were standing next to him outdoors, and custom made boots that were buttery soft, bright turquoise, and came to a steel point that turned a shoe into a weapon. He said he went into at least ten stores and galleries and each place was welcoming, eager to help him accessorize his outfit including finding just the right earrings to match the shirt. Of course I think straight people like gay men better than dykes. (Ryan wholeheartedly disagrees.) But most people will get a chuckle when a guy wraps himself in a boa but they start grimacing when a woman swaggers into a room in leather chaps. (ooh...that just gave me a pleasant visual.)
Still, we are finding out today, that gay support comes when we have the cash required to lubricate the process. And it ends when a bigger prize comes along. It turns out there are lots of bigger prizes.
I read an interesting article today that pointed out we are a pretty small minority...even when you combine all the letters of our group. So the fact that we have as much support as we do have is a tribute to every LGBTQ+ person who lives an out and uncompromising life. Yes we have dedicated organizations that fight every day for equality and awareness, but the lesbian family that lives in a middle class neighborhood without pretending to be anything but, or the gay male first grade teacher that continues to love and encourage little kids of all genders--they are heroes to me. Every day they are representing all of us and everyday they do it well.
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