Poem Published with In Plainspeak

My poem “The Two Worlds of a Bi Poet” was published today in the December edition of In Plainspeak, A digital magazine on sexuality, based in the Global South. This edition focused on Digital Spaces and Sexuality and explored how these two worlds converge. My poem explores the outlet my digital writing presence provides when my own world cannot always do so.

Earlier this year, my local library made national news due to enacting a very strict policy on what they deemed inappropriate for teens to read. Many classics would have been removed from the teen section under this policy and it was obvious from the start that this policy was set into place to restrict LGBT books and topics from the teen section. Why is it that anything even remotely LGBT related is automatically deemed explicit, inappropriate, or propaganda when straight relationships are not?

Thanks to local writer John Green, this policy received national scrutiny and the board is in discussions to stop the policy and put books back in the teen section. But the damage has been done. I know for myself, this ban created a sense of unwelcomeness in my own community. My poem makes mention of this event because of its impact on my identity within my real community and the fragile illusion of safety online in comparison.

LGBT rights have come so far even in the past few years. Gay marriage has only been legal in my state for the past 9 years! But there is still a lot of progress to go. You can feel the animosity in discourse related to LGBT topics in both the digital and real world. Accusations of grooming or other inappropriate behaviors are often brought up when discussing sex education, especially if it includes any LGBT topics. Globally, there are still countries where LGBT relationships are banned, illegal, and can be punished with death. I also fear what the future holds for LGBT citizens in Russia after the raids on LGBT bars and making lists of patrons earlier this month.

I thank In Plainspeak for offering this space to discuss these topics and making it their mission to educate both their local community and the online community on various topics related to sexuality. It’s a honor to carve out my little piece of protest on the digital stage.