Identity Archives - MyUmbrella

Can We Talk About the Word?

By : Shelonda Montgomery January 4, 2021 Comments Off

“Can we talk about the word?” Emilia says. Zahra sits, writing in her brown, leather-covered notebook in Central Park at a round, white, steel table. Her yellow dress dances across her crossed legs as she slightly moves, habitually turning her ankle, which makes her gold sandals bounce. Beside the notebook is half a bottle of water and a peach. The day is kind and warm. The sun is shining bright. Several hummingbirds hover near a tree that cast its shadow over the small white table and Zahra. Zahra had been walking for some time before she grew tired and decided to rest. Now she writes, I need you here with me to - “Can we talk about the word?” Emilia, again, says. Zahra stops writing, pressing her pen on the

The Lake: A Sestina

By : Lorenzo Mendez December 27, 2020 Comments Off

Amid evergreen song, Mother Earth’s voice blares enough to conceal that of the boy—events that had long defined his hide from his obscurities. Was it the painted nails on masculine digits, the slight strut in his stride, or the two personalities he wore that made faces turn to an uneven arc? The same ones that upturn upon that bible verse: leviticus, sinful, a single color. Of course, the lake he stares into is stripped of its hues. Its once glinting color now stands dull with the rest of the onlookers: black and white, not enough. And though the refracted image of the boy, in hindsight, is him, neither the arc around his belt, nor his murky skin could hide his real image. An image that strings together two narratives into

Questioning Happiness

By : Ashmi Singh December 21, 2020 Comments Off

What does it mean to come out if you’re not sure who you are? I spent two years chasing after a boy who didn’t like me back when I was in middle school, all the way into my freshman year of high school. In my sophomore and junior year, I “fell in love” with another boy. During my senior year and in college, I experimented. In my head I kept thinking, I don’t like girls, I’m just a hormone-harboring teenager, what’s new? I ended my freshman year of college with a girlfriend. A serious one, too. I mean, we fell in love, hard. Facetime calls never-ending, I was totally immersed in her. I thought she was immersed in me, but that’s a whole other story. Both of us were convinced

Hello World

By : Casy Chapin November 26, 2020 Comments Off

Hello to everyone out there in this massive, amazing, crazy, and concerningly overcomplicated world. I am a transgender woman. That's fun to say. I'm a trans woman! I am a woman. This is new to me. Rather, being willing to say that I am, is. I've known something about myself was feminine since I was eleven or twelve, I think. Something about me was hidden, existing in the shadows of my personality, while the rest of me was sort of muddled throughout my life. I was disconnected. Life happened to other people while this guy I was supposed to be just worked, ate, and existed. I'm breaking down that barrier of shadows and self doubt and putting the pieces of myself back together, and the real me is so happy

It’s Okay to Not Know

By : Emily Maker November 21, 2020 Comments Off

I grew up in the midwest with zero open queer folk around, which led to me having to figure out where I fall on the spectrum of human sexuality a little bit late. I thought I was odd. Not normal. I mean, who doesn’t know they aren’t straight until their late twenties, or later? Turns out that the more I talk about it, the more common it seems. I feel grateful for my move to a liberal city in my early twenties and the exposure it gave me to all different sorts of people. I was married to a man at 19 and had a baby at nearly 21. Shortly after that divorce, I met another man and was with him during all of my struggles with self identity. In

Drag Race Holland Has Failed Their Non-Binary Queens

By : Angie Williams October 21, 2020 Comments Off

Growing up, I always felt like an outcast. I was always labeled as a tomboy. I hated the color pink. I still think that jumping rope is one of the stupidest activities that people do. I never felt like I found my place. When you're born and raised in San Francisco, you see a little bit of everything. Whether it was with friends or family, I would spot a drag queen on more than one occasion. When I was with family, the reactions range from grumblings under their breath to a simple head shake. When I was with friends, it was always that long quiet stare until you pass them, at which point everyone would burst out in laughter and make comments. Not wanting to stand out even more than

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