Pride Guide 2002
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE A-15
Proud of many things, and proud of being different
by D. Sierra
Here in Cleveland, and everywhere I go, I'm a woman in my 30s, Latina, a friend, a sister, a hard worker, a mother . . . and a lesbian. None of those words, alone, define me, and I'm proud of all of them.
Being all that and standing proud is such hard work. Dating these days is like a lottery in which you can hit the jackpot or get an STD-or someone who's just a shadow in your life, instead of a true partner. Add to that needing to get a babysitter!
It's not easy being a woman, especially if you're part of another minority group as well. We have to prove ourselves, work twice as hard, and too often, it's still not enough. We as women have to keep searching and hoping for that little glance of comfort, for that balance in our already complicated lives.
The first question I struggled with when I decided to come out as a lesbian was this: How can I be what I know I am, and at the same time, be considered the same person I've always been? The answers come one step at a time: I work to show my own people that I'm still the person they've learned to love and respect, but that there's another important part of me as well, another way of being.
I'm a lesbian, Latina woman in a het-
GALE'S.
erosexual universe, with kids and family moral standards that are a bit old-fashioned; I'm a 9-5 worker; a 24/7/365 friend; a daughter, and much more. How can I
I'm a lesbian, Latina woman in a heterosexual universe, with kids and family moral standards that are a bit old-fashioned.
separate pride in one part of my identity, from pride in all of my identity?
So I guess for this year's LGBT Pride, I going to embrace the pride in being a lesbian-a woman who loves another woman because she doesn't know otherwise. The rest of the year, I'm going to be proud of the rest of me.
But more than anything else I'm proud of just being different—and able to love despite race, gender, color and age. Celebramos nuestro orgullo-Let's celebrate our pride!
D. Sierra works for the AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland.
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