‘ONLY ON THE WEEKENDS’

Aurora Dominguez

It’s time to be really creative in caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth and adults. We’re losing ground, and we need to color outside the lines. As Congressman John Lewis told us, as well as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s time to create “good trouble.” I’m talking about an Underground Railroad for transgender children and adults, billboards with challenging messages across the states, and adults standing outside the windows of First Grade classrooms wearing t-shirts that say, “I Love Being Gay.”

Three times in the past week, I’ve been asked, “What do we do about these anti-LGBTQ laws that are springing up everywhere?”

One question came from a student in an audience of 150 at the University of Maine where I gave a Zoom talk. A dinner guest told me that he and another major donor have contacted national and state LGBT organizations to ask, “What are you going to do differently to make a difference?” And yesterday, a trained and licensed counselor told me that his organization is no longer allowed to counsel young people who are transgender. Otherwise, they’ll lose their license to counsel.

When women had no access to birth control information, other than from their doctor, and were aborting their babies with hangers in back alleys, Margaret Sanger broke the law by printing brochures that explained contraception, and had them passed out freely and mailed. The police tried sending her to jail. Now, birth control information is easily accessed. There are some laws that need to be creatively circumvented.

I told the counselor of transgender youth that I’d be happy to counsel the young people, and run group sessions for them in our home, if need be. I’ve been doing sexual counseling and leading group discussions for nearly 50 years without a license, but certified as a sexuality counselor and educator. The state can’t do anything to me, and I’m glad to do it for free. Billboards need to say, “‘Woke’ Means You Woke Up.”

An Underground Railroad means that we’ll help transgender people make it into states where they can get the medical assistance they need in order to be their true selves. Can we find temporary shelter, a support group, and a job for them?

LGBT political groups need to keep doing the work they’re so good at doing, but in a statewide and nationwide coalition with Jewish, Women’s, Black, and Latino groups, and with progressive churches and others.

Saul Alinsky, the famed activist who wrote “Rules for Radicals,” was asked by a group of seminarians on the eve of their ordination, “How do we make sure we don’t get co-opted by the system?” He replied, “Decide tonight if you want to be a priest or a bishop?”

People who fear losing their status are not my target audience here. Doing “good trouble” is for those who prioritize equality regardless of the risk.

Brian McNaught has been an author and educator on LGBTQ issues since 1974. Former Congressman Barney Frank said of Brian, “No one has done a better job of chronicling what it’s like to grow up gay." www.brian-mcnaught.com.

Check out “Only on the Weekend” by Dean Atta, a tale about three boys and two cities and the struggle of keeping a long-distance relationship.

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR MOST RECENT BOOK?

“Only on the Weekends” was inspired by moving from London, England to Glasgow, Scotland in 2019. I thought about how hard this kind of move would be for a teenager leaving behind their friends and everything familiar. I knew I wanted to write a gay romance and so I thought about why a teenage boy might suddenly have to move city and how he might try to keep a long-distance relationship going with his boyfriend. I decided the reason would be his dad’s job, and for this to work I decided to make his dad a single father. Once I’d made these initial choices the rest of the story and its characters fell into place. My main character Mack and his dad Teju are combinations of several people I know, and Mack’s boyfriend Karim is a combination of several guys I’ve dated. Finlay, the second love interest, is inspired by many queer Glasgwegians I’ve met since moving here.

WHY DO YOU FEEL REPRESENTATION OF A VARIETY OF PEOPLE IS SO IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING BOOKS?

I’m pretty focused on Black queer representation. I think there should be opportunities for authors of all ethnicities and lived experiences to write books. When I write a book I don’t aim for variety but authenticity. I only write characters I know from experience or can research extensively. I think we’ll get better representation with greater diversity among authors and publishers.

TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE BOOK AND WHY YOU DECIDED TO WRITE IT.

It’s a tale of three boys and two cities. Mack has to move from London to Glasgow because of his dad’s job. Mack tries to keep a long-distance relationship going with Karim, his boyfriend back in London. This proves difficult because Karim has a busy schedule as captain of his school basketball team. Mack meets Finlay in Glasgow and, despite being a famous social media influencer, Finlay seems to have all the time in the world for Mack. I decided to write this book because I love romance and, in my opinion, there aren’t enough queer romances. I also thought there aren’t enough stories set in Glasgow. A lot of people may know Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands but you mostly see Glasgow represented in gritty and quite harrowing stories. My experience of Glasgow has been full of kindness, amazing art and culture, and it’s all been really queer-friendly so I felt I had to celebrate that.