By Martina Robinson
Being a writer, it’s almost impossible to talk about my work, especially my best work, without coming out. Sometimes, especially if I have agreed to work for the day at an event that’s in a more conservative area, I consider not putting my exclusively-queer chapbook on display.
So far I haven’t given in to the stomach butterflies. Being me, I don’t expect to do so anytime soon. At event after event, when I opt to impress my truth, I’m glad I did. By the end of the day, there’s always at least one person who comes to my table, fingers the queer book, looks to make sure no one is watching and reads the whole thing before leaving. They almost always give me a donation. Sometimes they even pay the $3 purchase price and slip the skinny volume into their backpack or pocket.
I smile at them. I autograph the book if they opted to buy one. I hope that my own forthrightness will rub off. I consider it doing my bit to create the world we all want to live in. The kind of world where no one is afraid to tell everyone who they love for any reason. For me, it’s all in a day’s work!
Martina is a 33-year-old disabled, bisexual woman, person of faith and multi-issue activist who ran for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts on the Green-Rainbow Party ticket in 2006