Straight

by Chuck Tingle

are four of us piled into the vehicle, a ragtag assortment of friends from all parts of the queer spectrum. Of course, we’ve got plenty of straight friends, too, but tonight we’re staying as far away from them as possible.

After the first Saturation Day, most hateful detractors were silenced when relationships like Hazel and Nora’s proved, once and for all, that the trans experience is a valid and integral part of the queer community. Trans people, both straight and gay, were unaffected by homicidal rage, and TERFs were kicked even deeper into the dumpster where they belong.

That’s pretty sick honestly

Glancing around at my group of friends, I realize there’s a side of them I got to know this weekend that I’d never seen before, an intricate balance that makes them the beautiful, complex queers I love. None of us would’ve survived if it wasn’t for these complexities, not just within ourselves, but as a group. We may hail from across the vast spectrum of sexualities, but we’re stronger together. I now know our survival is not predicated on the conditional help of fair-weathered allies, or even the rock-solid kindness of outsiders who put in the work. We’ve made it this far because of each other.