{An Incomplete And Honest Look} at What I’ve Learned about LGBTQIA+

Warning: the piece you’re about to read may contain mistakes, missteps, errors and omissions, and will be outdated as soon as it’s published.

But I can’t allow the fear of saying the wrong thing stand in the way of saying anything.

This Pride Month, I wanted to look back on the last few years of my charmed life, in which my experience at The Prompt Mag has helped me grow in my understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community.

In 2018, I misgendered someone. I honestly can’t remember which pronoun I used, but it wasn’t they/them and should have been. Another member of The Prompt pointed it out, quickly and diplomatically.

Hey, J. FYI regarding the teaser for this piece, S. prefers “they/them” as pronouns.

Thanks! I replied. They just told me. I was getting the hang of this.

…or was I? Reader, I am bashful to admit, nearly four decades of strict adherence to grammar meant that I didn’t exactly understand the singular they.

I corresponded back and forth with S. asking if the term “they” helped them feel more anonymous? No. Ambiguous? Not exactly. It just felt right.

I was grateful to S. for their patience and for educating me in then uncharted waters.

A year later, The Prompt attracted an exciting new writer who linked with us in her quest to find a new name as she was transitioning. K. wrote abundantly: fiction, personal essays, and a hybrid of the two, and I consumed her stories rapaciously. Her writing style drew me in, and had a side effect of continuing my education about the trans community.

When we wrote an all-female miniprompt, I thought nothing of including her on the email thread. She was one of us!

When K. took a break from writing, she sent a message thanking The Prompt for our support during a time in her life that felt unpredictable. Then she said something that will never leave my heart: Being included in the Galentine’s Day miniprompt email definitely ranks as one of my most gender-affirming moments.

For a simple inclusion to elicit such a feeling from a person navigating her personal identity made me realize that yes, it really is just about the small acts between humans that make an impact.

Lastly, I collaborated on a fiction piece with a fellow writer, who happens to be gay. The characters in our story were in a same-sex relationship that suffered some of the same pressures that my friends and I have endured in our straight relationships. Gays — They’re Just Like Us!

Without E., I’m not sure I would have felt that I had the credentials to beget such a couple. But why not? This is a creative writing community.

In conclusion, there is no conclusion, because I am The Laziest Writer™. But also—and far more importantly—there is no end to the education we can receive from our peers if we keep an open mind… and if they can bear with us down as we walk gingerly down a tangled, winding, overgrown, but headed-in-the-right-direction path of progress.

Do you have a #Pride-inspired story to tell? Get in touch on Twitter or check out our submission guidelines. We’d truly love to hear from you.