ANONYMOUS, 23
When I think about queer ancestral kin, the first person that always comes to mind is, and, you know, I say this with the utmost amount of respect, Audre Lorde. I think that she has been such a touchstone for me and my friends and how her world was introduced to me by my friends in such intimate and beautiful ways is a gift. I think her experience as a black, disabled lesbian, poet, philosopher and just the knowledge that she shared has been so restorative and so beautiful for me and my friends. And I think there’s a couple of moments that speak to that.
We have really bonded over this idea of queerplatonic intimacy. Right. And I think Audrey Lorde really speaks to that when she talks about the erotic as a source of power and what that means, and I think, you know, she specifically is talking about black non-men.
There’s no hierarchy between romantic love and platonic love and sexual love and how we make those boundaries and relationships depend on what we’re looking for.
Every time I take a breath, that is me surviving because of the people that came before me. So, yeah, that’s how I feel when I think about great ancestors. I definitely feel the resonance with Audrey Lorde. And so, I think this idea of queerplatonic intimacy is so important to me because my chosen kin is absolutely my friends, but they’re also people that love me so deeply and see me so deeply that I’ve just never had that type of relationship.