Born this way… by Paula Jesty, MI Understanding I was born with big feet.
A BEGINNING Stonewall Riots 50th Anniversary was June 28, 2019 The Stonewall riots (also referred to as the Stonewall
As a child, keeping shoes on me was a challenge; I was happier in bare feet. Not a fan of socks, I was constantly getting in trouble for running through the school on my toes. When I started to grow, my feet grew first. By the time I was 11, I looked like the letter L. My feet no longer fit in children’s shoes, so I wore adult shoes that brought attention to the size of my feet. Kids can be cruel, and they were. My feet were constantly the topic of bullying and teasing, to the point where most kids knew me as the girl with the really big feet. I came to hate my feet and everything about them. They were too big for my body, and they made me trip and fall constantly. My shoes made me look like I had clown feet, and there was nothing I could do about it. A kind relative pointed out that I simply had “large understandings’, and one day I would grow into my feet. I did grow into my feet eventually, but the damage had been done. I felt horrible about myself like something was wrong with a part of me that I could never change; this in turn meant there must be something wrong with me. I carried this shame for many years. I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, or pretty enough… how could I be? I was the girl with the really big feet. Then one day, tired of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to change the way I looked at my feet…and I bought a pair of fabulous shoes. My feet in these shoes felt special. The one part of me that had been teased and made fun of, was now powerful, strong and fierce. When I walked into a room, my feet walked in first, followed by me- proud, confident and ready to take on anyone who questioned me or my fabulous shoes. I’m older now, and happy that spring is here again so I can go back to being in bare feet every chance I get. I love my feet. They’re like an old friend now who has always been there, through the good times and the bad. They have shaped the person I have become, they made me stronger, more empathetic and more understanding of others. I’m glad I was born this way. WHAT DOES IT MEAN… 2SLGBTQI+: 2 Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex,+ is inclusive of people who identify as part of sexual and gender-diverse communities, and who use additional terminologies.
Uprising or the Stonewall Rebellion) were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (2SLGBTQI+:) community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern
fight for 2SLGBTQI+ rights. Judy Garland was widely considered a gay icon. Many have suggested a connection between the date of Garland’s funeral on June 27, 1969, and the Stonewall riots, the flashpoint of the modern gay liberation movement the very next day. The Rainbow Flag Gilbert Baker (June 2, 1951 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist, gay rights activist, and designer of the rainbow flag (1978). Baker’s flag became widely associated with 2SLGBTQI+
rights and causes, a symbol of gay pride that has become ubiquitous in the decades since its debut. California state senator Scott Wiener said Baker “helped define the modern LGBT movement.” In 2015, the Museum of Modern Art ranked the rainbow flag as an internationally recognized symbol as important as the recycling symbol. “The rainbow flag is a symbol of freedom and liberation that we made for ourselves.” ~Gilbert Baker~
PRIDE Villager
Page 15 Issue 10 • Spring 2023
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