By Sydney Glide
I am sitting in my feminist film theory course during my senior year of college. At this point, I’m fully steeped in taxonomy, connotations, and denotations. Semiotics is king. My professor hands us note cards. We are instructed to anonymously write about our gender and sexuality. The catch? We need to describe these facets of our identity without using traditional terminology. My professor would collect the cards after the exercise was complete, shuffle them, and pass them out. We then went around the room, reading these cards out loud.
Some of us wrote haikus and poetry, connecting the human spirit to nature and the cosmos. Others interrogated the effect of media and consumerism on their attractions. There was a wide range of thought and experiences shared amongst a group of peers. Each examination beautifully danced around these in-between spaces—spaces we often ignore because they don’t fit the checkboxes often placed before us. Firm definitions didn’t constrain ideas of who we truly are as humans.
Because it rid all binary language from its conceit, this activity made a place for the celebration and revelation of bi+ identities: a rarity in a society that wants folks to fit neatly into predetermined categories. I felt euphoric knowing who I am can’t be tethered to a few words. I experienced a weightlessness that only exists when the mind is focused and clear. Who we are is so much more than a label, and yet, those labels can be a jumping-off point in our identity journey. There was a vulnerability and beauty in seeing beyond constructions and looking inward to the self. The note card served as a reminder that even though we may subscribe to a label, that we all experience said label in a unique way. With our minds constantly juggling a million different things in our busy lives, it’s rare that we take time for ourselves and meditate on who we are as people. Consider this exercise for yourself. You’ll meet someone you love and that someone is you. You might have to stop at the store for some note cards first.
Sydney Glide (she/her) is a Michigan, U.S.-based writer and an indie comic book creator. She loves cooking, watching sports, and buying new hats.