|
|
I came out in the summer of 1972 and have been an active member of the queer community ever since.
I am adding this page to my website in the spring of 2026 because the current political climate is a serious threat to everyone's rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Visibility and representation are essential if we are to live authentic lives. The Republican agenda is to make us disappear and/or go back into the closet.
I use the term queer because it covers the broad spectrum of gender identity and sexual preference. I am not defined by one single letter as part of the GLBTQIA community. I primarily identify as a lesbian, although technically I am a bisexual - as I did sleep with men in my youth. I could also be described as asexual since I have not had sex with anyone since 2004. Perhaps I am intersex. My clitoris is entirely enclosed and when I was a baby everyone thought I was a boy. My mother would put me in a pretty dress with a pink bow and strangers would comment what a cute boy I was. I guess they could see there was something different about me.
As an advocate for the queer community, I have spoken to many groups and classes about being gay. Most of my gay friends feel they were born gay. For me it is a choice, a preference. I have found some men attractive on a physical, intellectual or spiritual level but I prefer the company of women. And it shouldn't matter if it is in our DNA or if it is a heartfelt decision. Love is love. Sex is sex. As long as any relationship is consensual between adults or exploratory between teens of a similar age - it is no one else's place to judge, condemn or pass laws trying to restrict who we love.
In 1993 Sara Banks and I produced an award winning documentary - Out in Paradise -a documentary about lesbians in Hawaii. Thanks to the generous support of Joe Wilson, Dean Hamer and several LGBT organizations in Hawaii, Sara and I were honored to show the remastered version of the video at the historic Hawai`i Theater in Honolulu in June of 2025. Sadly, several of the women who were brave enough to be very out in 1993 were afraid to even attend this event due to the current homophobic, fascist regime.It is also very disconcerting that 33 years later we are having to fight for the rights and recognition we so joyfully embraced back then.
Suicide rates for queer youth are staggering, especially for those in isolated rural communities. The fear and hate mongering by the far right (especially towards the trans community) has aggravated the situation. A wonderful resource is the Trevor Project- an organization that provides free, 24/7 confidential support for young people. Many states are trying to pass anti-gay legislation. The good news is almost all of their hostile bills have been voted down. In 2021 the UN General Assembly incorporated the phrase "sexual orientation and gender identity" (SOGI) into the text of a recurrent* resolution on International Human Rights. It is time that the "moral" minority adheres to this universal truth. We're here. We're queer. We have always been here. And we ain't going back.
I am adding this page to my website in the spring of 2026 because the current political climate is a serious threat to everyone's rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Visibility and representation are essential if we are to live authentic lives. The Republican agenda is to make us disappear and/or go back into the closet.
I use the term queer because it covers the broad spectrum of gender identity and sexual preference. I am not defined by one single letter as part of the GLBTQIA community. I primarily identify as a lesbian, although technically I am a bisexual - as I did sleep with men in my youth. I could also be described as asexual since I have not had sex with anyone since 2004. Perhaps I am intersex. My clitoris is entirely enclosed and when I was a baby everyone thought I was a boy. My mother would put me in a pretty dress with a pink bow and strangers would comment what a cute boy I was. I guess they could see there was something different about me.
As an advocate for the queer community, I have spoken to many groups and classes about being gay. Most of my gay friends feel they were born gay. For me it is a choice, a preference. I have found some men attractive on a physical, intellectual or spiritual level but I prefer the company of women. And it shouldn't matter if it is in our DNA or if it is a heartfelt decision. Love is love. Sex is sex. As long as any relationship is consensual between adults or exploratory between teens of a similar age - it is no one else's place to judge, condemn or pass laws trying to restrict who we love.
In 1993 Sara Banks and I produced an award winning documentary - Out in Paradise -a documentary about lesbians in Hawaii. Thanks to the generous support of Joe Wilson, Dean Hamer and several LGBT organizations in Hawaii, Sara and I were honored to show the remastered version of the video at the historic Hawai`i Theater in Honolulu in June of 2025. Sadly, several of the women who were brave enough to be very out in 1993 were afraid to even attend this event due to the current homophobic, fascist regime.It is also very disconcerting that 33 years later we are having to fight for the rights and recognition we so joyfully embraced back then.
Suicide rates for queer youth are staggering, especially for those in isolated rural communities. The fear and hate mongering by the far right (especially towards the trans community) has aggravated the situation. A wonderful resource is the Trevor Project- an organization that provides free, 24/7 confidential support for young people. Many states are trying to pass anti-gay legislation. The good news is almost all of their hostile bills have been voted down. In 2021 the UN General Assembly incorporated the phrase "sexual orientation and gender identity" (SOGI) into the text of a recurrent* resolution on International Human Rights. It is time that the "moral" minority adheres to this universal truth. We're here. We're queer. We have always been here. And we ain't going back.
You can now watch Out in Paradise on YouTube.
Please copy and paste the link in your browser.
https://youtu.be/A3JahPbANiI?si=1pYjTleHkLVrT8cl
Please copy and paste the link in your browser.
https://youtu.be/A3JahPbANiI?si=1pYjTleHkLVrT8cl
