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I'm so grateful to everyone sharing their coming out stories - the good, the bad, the ugly. I am trying hard to use these kinds of moments of honesty and reflection to understand my place in the world better and I realised something that's probably really obvious.
If asked to describe myself, I don't think (unless specifically prompted) I would mention my skin colour, my sexuality, or my gender expression. I don't see any of those as part of my identity because I don't ever have to think about or justify them.
My sense of self isn't linked with any of those characteristics. And I guess that's, in part anyway, kinda the definition of white / straight / cis privilege - right? I don't have to think or talk about being those things because they're kinda "default" in the society I inhabit.
I've been thinking more and more about how people I follow actively identify with their Blackness, and / or their queerness, and how that seems so PRESENT for them. So integral to who they are and what they do and how they carry themselves.
And like I said earlier in this thread - this is probably obvious and not rocket science and you might be reading it thinking well YES LISA THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN. But as I have said here before, I am working hard to learn and be a better ally.
And this puzzle piece of understanding falling into place felt sort of big in its own small way, and I thought I would share in case it was useful to anyone else too.
