06/03/2026
Proud
I don’t remember exactly when I watched the movie ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ with Hilary Swank, but the memory of that movie lives in my body. Always. It’s the story of Brandon Teena and is much like the story of Matthew Shepard. I will let you look into their stories in your own time if you are not familiar, but I bring it up because I have been thinking a lot about Brandon and Matthew’s stories lately. And because we are now into the month of June. Pride Month.
I grew up thinking that marriage just wasn’t for me. Or children. It was a world I didn’t think I would get to be a part of. I held that in my body, too. I remember EXACTLY where I was when I heard the news on June 26, 2015. I fell into a heap of joy and tears in a customer’s yard in Donelson. I never thought that day would come.
Us q***r folk hold a lot in our bodies. When we stand up strong, that strength comes from deep within. We carry the stories of those who have come before us and their strength continues to make us collectively stronger. If you have ever wondered what the words on my left arm mean, it’s from the book “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall, written in 1928.
The closet is a terrible place to live. There is no light, no community, no movement. Just isolation. Wonder is about all of those things that exist outside of the closet. And it’s about being a voice for the voiceless. Whether that is a Butterfly, a Bee, or a Young Q***r Kid in desperate need of seeing others be proud to be who they are. I was that kid once. And when I see that kid come through our doors, I want Wonder to inspire them to walk taller, speak louder and be PROUD of who they are.
-joy
