QUEEROES 2018
June 25, 2018 9:49 AM   Subscribe

When we think of a hero, the image that comes to mind for many people is a straight, cisgender white man in a costume, basking in his importance as he blusters his way into saving the world. We at them. not only believe that queer people are heroes, but that we are heroic precisely because we live in a world that doesn’t consider us valuable, yet still find ways to prosper and care for each other in that world every day. This month, we decided to honor individuals who not only make our community more visible, but who actively work to help other LGBTQ+ people feel important and supported. Here are our 2018 Queeroes, and the reasons why we cherish them.
posted by ellieBOA (10 comments total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
Thanks for this! I'd like to nominate my personal 'queero' of 2018, Rostam Batmanglij. There has been a massive deficit in Iranian-American queer representation in my life, and going to his concert earlier this year brought me to tears, imagining what my childhood would have been like if I had him to look up to instead of the absolute void where my people should have been. See also Andy Baraghani, who wrote an excellent essay in Bon Appetit about his own voyage.

I'd love to hear about who brought light to other MeFites' lives this year!
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:06 AM on June 25, 2018 [5 favorites]


I think I've mentioned this a time or two, but I went to college with Raquel. She was I think either president or vice president of our Lambda Alliance while I was there, and I was always, always deeply impressed by the skill and compassion she's brought to activism, politics, and writing. Since we both graduated, she's only gotten wiser. I saw her speak at the Women's March and shrieked--literally shrieked--with joy and delight for her.

I am always so delighted when I see her shining light here. She's always done that. She's always been like this, and I am so happy to get to see her sharing that with other people.

(She and I were also on a panel together once where the students we were there to do Q&A with Queers for ran out of questions and someone awkwardly asked us what our hobbies were. I think we all panicked: I was in the middle of my thesis at the time and Raquel was doing a ton of organization work and dealing with a ton of other heavy stuff besides, and I think both of us visibly wound up flailing to think of something humanizing and normal to tell the nice straight undergrads. I think she eventually settled on drag, and I think I said something awkward about knitting, maybe.

We still did better than the gent sitting between us, who blurted out that his hobby was sleeping, though. Perhaps not my finest moment.)
posted by sciatrix at 11:35 AM on June 25, 2018 [4 favorites]


I know very few of these people and look forward to reading more about them.

Also, I've seen it mentioned on the site a few times already, but if you haven't watched Nanette by Hannah Gadsby on Netflix yet, you MUST. I watched it last night and am still gobsmacked, but I'm not quite ready to watch it again. It's that powerful. She's on my hero list now, right up at the top.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:40 AM on June 25, 2018 [5 favorites]


Dora Santana is a person who just absolutely blows me away.
posted by nikaspark at 1:22 PM on June 25, 2018 [2 favorites]


Jonathan Square is another person you all should know. And also Lyndon K. Gill
posted by nikaspark at 1:25 PM on June 25, 2018 [2 favorites]


(I can’t make FPP’s on these people because I know them personally and it’s “too close to home”)
posted by nikaspark at 1:26 PM on June 25, 2018 [1 favorite]


I also came in to nominate Hannah Gadsby. Nanette is incredible and everyone should watch it. It made this lesbian sob openly in a public place!
posted by mymbleth at 12:36 AM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


Every queer person I see out in the street or online being themselves despite this ridiculous world is my hero. Every queer person making art, succeeding despite the odds, getting their shit together, doing self-care, working to make the world a little less terrible.

As far as famous people go, I was over the moon when Janelle Monáe came out this past year. I love Laverne Cox, who just has a brilliant media presence. Julia Serano's writing is always on point, and Kate Bornstein likewise. Leslie Feinberg, may he rest in power. I want to name a bunch of queer cartoonists who blew my mind at various points but I'm already late for work.
posted by bile and syntax at 6:19 AM on June 26, 2018 [3 favorites]


My personal queeroes for the year include adrienne maree brown and Alok Vaid-Menon.
posted by overglow at 7:30 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


My nomination goes to Georgie Stone, a teenage transgender activist who helped change the law. She's an amazing young woman.
posted by daybeforetheday at 2:53 AM on June 27, 2018 [2 favorites]


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