when did you feel connected?
July 18th, 2008 Sassafras
A week from today I’ll be climbing aboard a big Amtrak train, leaving NYC and heading upstate for the Queer Spirit Camp. I’ll be leaving behind my beloved cell phone reception, and having to decide in advance what I’m going to wear for two days, and make sure that everything (including the crinolines) fit into my messenger bag, but I can honestly say that I’m starting to get extremely bouncy
I’m so excited to get to perform, and am equally excited about getting to lead two writing workshops for the folks attending camp! As I’m beginning to prepare to go one of the things that I keep thinking about is the utter explosion of femmeness that has taken place in the states in recent years, and how fantastic that is.
One of the things that really makes my journey to a queer femme identity was grappling with the fact that I didn’t see a queer femme community, nor did I even see femmes for a really long time, which just furthered the isolation that I was feeling as I began coming out and like so many people began adopting traits of androgyny because I thought that was how “real” dykes were supposed to act. And now? Goodness there is femme stuff everywhere! There is an ever-increasing number of books, the femme-coloring book, the femme conference, and last but certainly not least those of us here at the femme show making our way around the east coast this summer! I wonder what it must be like to come out with there being so much flamboyant queer femininity just being part of the fabric of community.
