I just shared the complete essay from my keynote (not identical) "Queer Enough: Imposter Syndrome and Gatekeeping In Sexuality and Identity Communities" from the Unabashed Queer Kink Con @unabashedcon . I am sharing it with my Patreon supporters first at http://www.Patreon.com/PassionAndSoul - but here is an excerpt from the 5 page essay by Lee Harrington: ***This is queer culture, and the visibility of queerness permeates it as a way for folks to know if they “belong.” It is nose rings and undercuts, bears and butches, dandies and queens. It is Judy Garland, Billie Porter, KD Lang, Diana Ross, and Janelle Monae. It is pride flags and rainbow capitalism. It is eating our own online. But in these examples I have been shown, it is hard not to note who is seen or unseen, who gets press time or asked to leave the stage. Indigenous and refugee voices are rarely seen, incarcerated queer folks only seen when doing fundraisers, and elder voices only present when they are musicians or movie stars. Those who can be read as not-queer are also left out of the dialogue. This leads to bi-erasure, femme erasure, and the erasure of individuals who are in relationships that get read as straight. Told they are not queer enough to be in these spaces, looked at askance when they walk in, or not believed when they say they are queer. This labeling of some of us are queer enough or not is toxic and destructive. “Am I enough” becomes wedged into our bodies, embodied imposter syndrome as we shove ourselves into outfits, styles of movement, or relationship shapes that might not serve our authentic selves out of a desire to fit in. We leave hetnormative boxes as if we were rebels, only to work to fit into this queernormative box which can have just as many unspoken norms.*** To read the rest of the essay, check it out over on Patreon at any membership level. #Queer #QueerCulture #QueerKink #QueerEnough #LGBTQ #2SLGBTQ #QueerPolitics #YouAreEnough https://www.instagram.com/p/CZSljd1uRkH/?utm_medium=tumblr
