Rae Theodore's Blog, page 14

Here’s what put the “Fest” in OutFest

I think I’ve finally recovered from OutFest. If you don’t know, OutFest is the national Coming Out Day block party in Philadelphia. Tens of thousands of people attend every year.

This year, I paid for a table to promote Leaving Normal: Adventures in Gender. I sold books, handed out business cards, talked with anyone who stopped by and raffled off some sweet bowties to people who signed up to follow The Flannel Files. A big shout out to all of my new followers!

I pretty much broke even after a...

T-shirt drama

W and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary tomorrow. You can read about our wedding here.

I will have a table at OutFest in Philly promoting my book.

I was going to surprise her and wear this T-shirt tomorrow.

Best laid plans of mice and butches. The T-shirt place never shipped it. They are sending out a replacement tee, but I won’t have it for tomorrow.

What’s a butch to do when she doesn’t have a special T-shirt for a special occasion? So, I made this T-shirt today.

I am cr...

What Fun Home taught me about being gay

When I was coming out 10 plus years ago, I was pretty sure I was doing it all wrong. Not so much the coming out part, but the being gay part.

Looking for guidance, I sent letters and e-mails to a variety of “accessible” celebrity lesbians. And Barney Frank. By “accessible,” I mean the rung below the power lesbians. The writers and activists who I thought might actually write me back. I asked everyone to identify the single most important thing that a gay person can do to further empower the c...

Queen of my heart

Four years ago today, W and I had a commitment ceremony.

Because that’s what gays and lesbians did in 2011 before marriage equality.

I just read the vows that I wrote the morning of our ceremony. Leave it to a writer to sneak in right before deadline.

I ended my vows with a story that my grandfather used to tell. He said that when he married my grandmother, she told him that she would treat him like a king if he treated her like a queen. After she died, he confessed that he never did live up...

Winner, winner, YOU are the biggest lesbian ever

You know you’re a humongous lesbian when you get engaged to your lady friend. And you happen to be a lady, too. Plus, foam trucker caps.

Congrats to Family Values Lesbian! You, my friend,are the biggest lesbian ever and the winner of The FlannelFiles’ latestcontest! You can read about FVL’s engagement and other adventures here. Tell her Middle-age butch sent ya.

Thanks to everyone who participated. If it makes you feel better, you’re all giant lesbians! You can read the other entriesin the co...

Fear

Or like this guy.

I’ve been feeling really small these days. Not small in a good way. Like, hey, I lost 12 pounds and these cargo shorts are hanging off of me. But small in an all-balled-up way. Like a fist.

I have a slew of things I need to do. One of those things is write a presentation for a corporate event slated for early November. This company has an LGBT group, and I’ve been asked to speak about my book. I’m planning on talking about the power of story — the stories we tell ourselves a...

Biggest lesbian ever contest

Last weekend, I did, perhaps, the lez-iest thing ever.

I went to the vet with my lesbian wife and two of our cats. Bodhi and Sammy. We are a walking, talking stereotype.

We had brought them in for their annual exam. They passed with flying colors.

However, we had to bring one of the cats back today. He had a cut on his paw that had gotten infected.I didn’t feel likea giant lesbian today. It was just me, my lesbian wife and ONE cat. Totally different.

Here’s Bodhi after his vet appointment.

Th...

On Wookies and books and other stuff

Guys, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks.

Chewbacca and me. Abducted by a Wookie in Target of all places.

Thisexplains why I haven’t posted in so long. It’s acomplicated Butch in Spaaaace tale.

While I was away,my book got a really great review on the lesbian website Autostraddle. You can check it out here. Perhaps the best compliment any butch writer can get: “A smart and eloquent memoir about becoming butch, Leaving Normal: Adventures in Gender will resonate if you have a proud copy of Stone...

Masks

When I was a kid, my favorite animal was the raccoon.

I loved these little guys.

I collected ceramic raccoon figures.

I drew raccoons.

I painted raccoons.

They were mischievous rascals. Cute and cuddly critters. (I didn’t know about rabies back then.)

They wore furry black masks like they had something to hide. Or were ready to knock over a liquor store.

I never made the connection until recently. That I was the raccoon hiding behind my mask.

Raccoons don’t hold the same appeal for me these d...

Me and Xena: Warrior Princess

Today is Xena’s 20th anniversary.

A big ayiyiyiyiyi Xena battle cry to all of my Flannel Files followers on this very special occasion.

I’ve been reading the Xena posts and tweets on social media, and I must say it’s taken me back in time. Not to ancient mythological Greece when Xena roamed the countryside thwarting evildoers with the help of Gabrielle, her trusty sidekick. But the late 1990s when I was struggling with my sexuality.

The first time I watched Xena: Warrior Princess, I was hooke...