In Portland, we moved Pride Month to July for several reasons — including to make more room for Juneteenth, the national holiday recognizing the day that enslaved people in Texas first got word of the Emancipation Proclamation. Something wonderful about who's leading in Portland these days is their intersectional thinking. We work hard to make room for each other's perspectives, and recognize that systemic inequality affects us all differently.
So when Affect hired Human Centric Media to produce commercial portraits for their Disabled and Here stock photography and interview series, I was overjoyed. As a bonus, the theme this year was T4T Pride, which filled my sweet trans heart with glee.
Something wonderful about trans people is that we've all worked very hard to love and understand ourselves, and this gives us added capacity to show up for others.
No matter what the loud narcissists say, the diversity of our community is a powerful differentiator. In my community, we're working hard to make sure our leadership is representative of, and responsive to, the vast array of communities that call Portland home.
Where I live, on the east side of the river, we greet each other curiously. Everyone is welcome at the table. It's not perfect, we have growth still to do, but I've never lived somewhere with such vision for this mission.
The models for this photoshoot brought their personal style and personality right to the forefront, and I was so happy to not just capture them with reverence, but in moments of play.
Because part of the hard work of building a more inclusive, nourishing community is protecting our joy. Without it, the rest of the work simply won't get done.
