To rainbows and love

here's to not only rainbows and parades

but,

here’s to closeted people.

here’s to the closeted transmascs hiding their binders in between folded band tees.

here’s to trans people spending three hours on baby name websites.

here’s to young gay kids in convent schools being told marriage is between a man and a woman.

TRANS PEOPLE

here’s to young trans boys trying to carry three chairs with the rest of the boys when the teacher says to put them away.

here’s to young aromantics and asexuals hearing that love and sex are what make you human.

here’s to bisexuals who grew up hearing jokes about people like them but never once heard the word, bisexual.

here’s to people who use obscure labels to explain their gender.

here’s to the neopronoun users.

NON BINARY PEOPLE

here’s to the she/theys who only get called she and the he/theys who only get called he.

here’s to nonbinary people.

here’s to people who knew when they were young.

here’s to people who figured it out later in life.

here’s to the people who know they’re queer but can’t find a good label & here’s to the people who don’t want a label.

here’s to people who still don’t know.

here’s to the closeted people seeing the pride sections in stores and feeling safe until they see their mother’s scowl.

here’s to the closeted trans people going by five different names and trying to balance it all.

QUEER KIDS

here’s to queer kids with pride flags hidden in their closets.

here’s to queer adults who thought they’d be out by now but aren’t.

here’s to the people who came out too soon.

here’s to the people who never will come out.

here’s to disabled queer people, neurodivergent queer people, queer systems, and mentally ill queer people.

QUEER BIPOC

here’s to queer BIPOC.

here’s to transsexuals and homosexuals and queers and fags and dykes.

here’s to each stripe on the original pride flag (sex & life & healing & the sun & nature & art and magic & serenity & spirit).

here’s to the homemade pride pins hiding in the bottom of a high school freshman’s backpack.

TO THE RAINBOWS

here’s to the loud queer people.

here’s to people who radiate queerness.

here’s to people who make cishets uncomfortable.

here’s to the elder queers.

here’s to people in countries where being queer is outlawed.

here’s to every single queer person.

here's to loving yourself more than needing to be loved by others.

here's to being accepted AND respected as ourselves.

also

here's to rainbows! (and parades!)

happy pride <3

Author: Abantika Duttagaur