Found Family by Lucas Clay In 2016, the UK video game start-up that I was working for as a concept artist went bust. It wasn’t entirely surprising, given how most start-ups
Wortley Pride Festival – July 2022
end, but it was bad timing. That is how I found myself blindly sending out resumes to any company in London, England I could find, and receiving a reply to one of them with an opener that I didn’t see coming. “You are aware this is for a position in London in Ontario, Canada, not London, England, correct?” Desperate, I responded with one word. “Yes.” I’m sure you’ve heard horror stories about the video game industry and how it can treat marginalized communities. As someone who identifies as transmasc, when I graduated, I realized it would take an especially heavy hammer to shatter that particular glass ceiling. So, to make it in the industry I had trained and taken on student debt for, I did what I had never wanted to do, and I went back in the closet. Put my dead name on resumes, reached for the makeup when I had interviews and entered the industry in what felt like someone else’s skin. It felt easier to smile and nod, rather than have to deal with daily microaggressions. The days of putting pronouns in your email signature were still a few years away. So, Canada. My partner and I had ‘The Talk’. I’d move to the other side of the Atlantic and while I worked on our permanent residency, she’d stay and work in the UK. Easy enough, right? I arrived and soon realized very suddenly that I was alone, in London, Ontario, Canada, with no family and without my partner. Thankfully, the loneliness didn’t last. I was still closeted at work, but a small group of wonderful and largely queer colleagues immediately adopted me as their own. When I came out to them as transmasc, they didn’t miss a beat, and with laughter, affectionate teasing and unwavering support, they became the foundation that kept me going while so far away from home. Without them, I genuinely believe I would have become untethered from my identity in those two years – like being undercover for far too long. My girlfriend, now my wife, came to join me after two years, and my Canadian found family became hers as well. We have adopted three cats and bought a house since then, and that is thanks to the solid foundation they helped us to build. I’m proud to say that I am now in a career and company where my gender identity is not only respected, but understood and embraced. It’s integral to who I am, to my work and creativity, and I’ve been able to share myself openly and without fear. What is a found family? Well, for us, it means finding those who respect and care for you at your core, and who don’t much care what society puts on top of that. In my case, it’s people who respect my transmasculinity, use my he/him pronouns, but are always ready to show up and scream my drag queen name when I perform!
Photo courtesy Jason Plant JasonPlant@mcspiritstudios.ca
PRIDE Villager
Page 10 Issue 9 • Fall 2022
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