My voice has an audience. My words have worth. I am a queer immigrant woman of colour, and I have thought myself to believe that the world needs my stories. I write candidly and stridently about rape culture, cycles of abuse, addiction, estrangement, mental illness, bigotry, and discrimination. My courage to explore disturbing topics grows from my experience reading the works of other marginalized writers. These writers have taught me how to be fierce and irreverent in exposing and addressing social problems. Their voices have led me through devastation and desperation, and their words have guided me to new found insights and inner strength.
I’m Afraid of Men, by Vivek Shraya (2018) Shraya explores the impact of masculinity on her childhood, having been raised as a boy, and the effects that continue to affect her today as a woman. When I feel hesitant about putting myself out there, I recall Shraya’s boldness in the face of hate and cruelty. Her pieces are as much works of art as they are acts of courage.
Eloquent Rage, by Brittney Cooper (2018) Cooper talks about the angry Black woman stereotype, the unpalatability of a Black woman’s rage, and the treatment of “fat and angry” Black women as bullies. My rage and I are best friends. Despite being shunned and punished for expressing anger, I know that my rage has saved me from…
