When I Say "I am" from For the Hard Ones: A Lesbian Phenomenology

When I Say "I am"

when I say that I am a lesbian I get ahead of those who refer to me by saying: she is. when I am what I am, I continue to be everything that I am: the one who eats grapefruits for breakfast, who never brushes her hair, who dances vallenatos, and who continues to be what she is.

the one who is but does not say "I am" can only be what she is when surrounded by others who also don't say that they are unless they are with each other.

the one who is and does not say "I am" can also be what she is by herself when there are no eyes around to scrutinize and label her.

still, it matters not that those who are do not say "I am" because in any case everyone else almost always knows that they are.