We are Huge

Photo by Windy City Times for Gay Games VII

When I left Chicago on Sunday, I brought with me a feeling of enormousness. Not from the Chicago stuffed pizza that took me two days to finish, but from the enormity of our community. We have hearts that are huge, and we have power that is unbelievable.

Being part of a community that is considered a "minority" can be challenging and, sometimes, discouraging. We watch our friends plan weddings knowing that we can't have the same right. We hear that our lives are an abomination, and that our love is nothing more than uncontrollable lust. We are sometimes tempted to hide our truth, or at least water it down.

At Gay Games VII, I often felt overwhelmed by emotion. Thousands of athletes and fans from all over the world assembled for the opening and closing ceremonies. No picture, sound recording or video could ever truly capture the power of those events. You had to be there. You had to feel the energy.

We face heartbreaking setbacks, but we endure. Anti-gay protestors shout condemnation and rant about our alleged sins, but we remain strong. We should be proud of ourselves.

Sometimes we do things to each other that are shameful. We divide ourselves into subcategories of gays, lesbians, transexuals, bisexuals. The muscularity of our bodies or beauty of our faces or number of wrinkles on our skin are brought into focus, or, worse, cause us to be completely ignored by others in our community. We fight amongst ourselves and belittle one another. It's sad when we act just like everybody else.

We're not like everybody else. Never have been. It is time for us to seize our power, and the only way to do that is become unified. Stop feeling alone, because you're not. Instead, reach out and find your family. We're here, and we're huge.