Someone Who Looks Like Me Pioneer

Someone Who Looks Like Me By Pioneer

Iam someone who has never fully fit in anywhere.

There has always been one thing that made me stand out from the crowd. And it was different with every community I was a part of. Obviously being gay was one. Being black was another. Then being spiritual or not drinking or being sexually active. The list goes on and on.

I think what’s beautiful about the Faeries is that you can be who you are. WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE. It doesn’t have to look the same as anybody else. You can be your own person. There’s no uniform. No stereotype. Just YOU.

I don’t necessarily have anything in common with the Faeries. But we do share one thing: None of us fit in anywhere else. And we’re fine with that. And we support each other in that. The fact that we are our authentic selves IS what we share in common. Not necessarily how we express it.

That said, I am beginning to realize it IS important to have someone I can relate to as a friend within the community. I have been lucky to have recent experiences with other Faeries around the world who were black like me.

The difference was ENORMOUS. Believe it or not, there are some things that you can relate to simply because of race: shared experiences. Whether it is the color of your skin, spirituality, or sexuality, these things define our culture and how black people see the world.

This common ground transcends cultures and boundaries. I have met black Fairies in Africa, Europe, and North America. There is something special about being able to relate— not just as a Faerie, but as a black person. There is a shared struggle around the world.

Unfortunately, part of that universal struggle is white supremacy, which leads to racism, oppression, and fetishization. When I talk to black Faeries, we’ve all experienced this to some level. In life and with the Fairies. It’s just a reality we’ve become used to that we know we have to deal with when we go out into the outside world.

Which is why when we—as black people—come together at a Faerie gathering, an unspoken kinship unfolds. Something that we weren’t allowed to have in the greater black community becomes possible: we’re allowed to be ourselves. Our TRUE selves. FULLY. In all our gay and black glory. Two identities finally merge in a place that is safe for them to coexist. What better people to celebrate that with than our black gay brothers and sisters?

Yes, we celebrate with our white Faerie family all over the world. Yes, we celebrate our queerness with all the colors of the rainbow. But it’s important that I take a moment to celebrate who I am with somebody who looks like me. Because that somebody knows the struggle we had to go through to get here.