My dad was, at best, very uncomfortable with queerness before I came out to him. For him, this discomfort stemmed from two prominent aspects of Latino culture: Christianity and machismo. Today, 77% of Latinos in the United States identify as Christian, and traditionally, Christianity has rejected queer people (with some exceptions of more progressive Christian denominations; however, these branches are not predominant in Latino culture).
sangre, stranger
Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) Hola, mija. The tinny speakerphone rings through our shoebox apartment; I look up at the sound and see that a work week’s worth of tension has melted from my mother’s shoulders now that she’s heard…
a queer friend in need
Graphic by Chrys Marr (She/They) sometimes you just need a queer friend in your life. a queer friend that is always by your side. someone that checks on you to see if you’re okay. someone that is always there to listen…
Why I’m Rarely Home for the Holidays, and Why I’m Okay With That
I live in a house full of strangers. I call them my family, and the fact that I feel so obligated to do so makes me question how we decide to define that. When people hear that I don’t get…
The Reality of My Home
When I came out to my brother, he couldn’t understand why I seemed so scared to tell him. To him, it was clear-cut: if I was gay, then that was that, and how could I be any less than perfectly…
