Lesbianism
From a prompt about "what pride means to you"
This was originally in a post by Gray and I revised it today. :)
1985
Nursing in my mother’s lap
Listening to family lore
Great aunt so-and-so
Never married
Living her best life
In a one room apartment
Twenty years with her best friend
1990
Homosexuality
No longer a “disorder”
Memorial Quilt
Red ribbon pins
Candlelight vigils
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in affect
We learned to find each other
1995
Walking aisles, hardware store
Muzak “Come to my window”
Mulleted woman
With more knowledge
about power tools
and drywall than contractors
in her button up flannel
2000
Safety pin placed on the chest
Rainbow jellies stacked on arms
Whispers of queerness
CD players
“All The Things She Said”
Hormones flood my body yet—
every girl I like is straight
2005
Craigslist posts, missed connections
Profiles without photos
Hidden star tattoos
Drag shows at bars
Blazers and iPods
Dating, yet “just friends” to them
cargo shorts say otherwise
2010
Androgyny, half shaved heads
Hashtagging “It Gets Better”
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ends
Gay bars, flash mobs
Thousands dancing free
White winged angels block bigots
Rainbow glitter stuck in hair
2015
The headlines shouted, “Love Wins!”
Rainbows rainbows everywhere
Binders, undercuts,
carabiners
The bride kissed the bride
Wedding pics flood Facebook feeds
We thought the fight was over
2020
COVID, Tinder, Bumble, Hinge
Zoom “dates,” shaved heads, surviving
Doom scrolling all night
Toilet paper
Speakers blasting WAP
Virtual Pride, rainbow masks
Sparks of joy in shitty times
2025
Trump preaches hate, trans rights gone
Queer lifelines now under threat
Our trembling hands hold
protest signs high
We won’t go away
Lipstick, chapstick, butch, femme, dyke
We’re still here, ready to fight.