race

Today we take a look at Forward Together, an amazing comprehensive activist resource that fights for the rights, recognition, and resources for families everywhere (including non-nuclear families, weird families, anti-families, mamas, trans and gender nonconforming folks, and also mermaids).

This week we (ahem) take a second to reflect on the myriad of ways that you can practice self-care, and review how important it is, especially for marginalized folks, to love and protect ourselves fiercely in a world that does not often leave room for either.

Welcome to our reboot of Scarleteen's Sexuality in Color series: our weekly post features resources and pieces about sex, sexuality, sexual health, identity and relationships written by and for women, queer and trans people of color.

In Part 1 and Part 2 of our intersectionality series we spoke about how identity and the way it intersects is personal. So, to explore that, we (Jacob & Al) decided we would have to get specific, we would have to get personal, and we would have to write about ourselves. Part 3 is a conversation between two people who somehow find themselves asking, "Are we like pies?"

In Part 1 and Part 2 of our intersectionality series we spoke about how identity and the way it intersects is personal. So, to explore that, we (Jacob & Al) decided we would have to get specific, we would have to get personal, and we would have to write about ourselves. Part 3 is a conversation...

So we’ve talked about what intersectionality is in Part 1. How can you put this idea into action?

Our identities and histories can be important and awesome, but they can also be a little difficult to figure out. What happens when your ideas about who you are clash with each other, or when you don’t feel like you fit anywhere at all? Perhaps you think you identify with words like ‘bisexual’ or ‘black/white’ or ‘man/woman’ but nothing feels quite right. Who is the real you? It can sometimes feel like everyone else knows who they are while you’re wearing clothes that don’t quite fit. Amidst that confusion it can be a struggle to navigate relationships with family, friends, and community. Intersectionality is here to help!

I hid my fears and insecurities by desexualizing myself. Now I'm on the path of uncovering ways to unlearn ugliness as an identity.

My family is supportive of my life, as long as they get to ignore the queer part. I know they can't handle it so I don't talk about it with them. As for my community of colour, the only one I've ever really been a part of is my mom's church family, and I know they wouldn't be able to handle it either.

Being queer and South Asian isn't easy; being queer and mixed is harder, because any community can put it down to the OTHER identity group. That said, my Indian grandmother has been incredibly supportive, and no one has written me hate mail or disowned me. I'm very grateful for the internet, and for the time I've spent in larger cities. Both give me a sense that there's someplace I might sort of fit in.