What a Queer Lao Man Wants You to Know

What a Queer Lao Man Wants You to Know:

I want you to know that I’m Queer.

I want you to know that I’m still proud to be Lao American.

I want you to know that I eat sticky rice just like the rest of you.

I want you to know that I go to the Wat Lao every New Year just like the rest of you.

I want you to know that I can fawn with dainty, “broken” wrists – the way too many Lao men are too scared to do.

I want you to know that it doesn’t
matter to me if I’m just like the rest of you or not – because no matter
what the stakes are – I will ensure that my rights and dignity will be
respected.

I want you to know that I don’t
actually care if we all bleed the same color or not, because I’m too
busy making sure that I’m not made to bleed for openly claiming my
sexuality – at least not without a fight.

I want you to know that I appreciate those of you who have always accepted me.

I want you to know that I appreciate those of you who have learned to accept me.

I want you to know that the most important thing is that I appreciate and accept myself.

I want you to know that I love to
kick it with my Lao homeboys, listening to hip hop out of a car stereo,
eating chicken wings with sticky rice, and downing shots of Hennessy.

I want you to know that the minute I
hear one of those homeboys say an Anti-Gay slur, I won’t be scared to
shut everything all the way down.

I want you to know that even if I romantically involve myself with a woman, it will never mean that I identify as straight.

I want you to know that I love me some Lao men.

I want you to know that the things we now call “Gay” or “Trans” have existed in Laos for millennia.

I want you to know that being Gay is not “whiteboy sh–t.”

I want you to know that European
colonialism robbed much of the third world of its sexual and gender
diversity, and I refuse to let anyone continue this robbery.

I want you to know that there would be no modern movements for equality without Black and Brown Queer visionaries.

I want you to know that
“Homosexuality” is not a threat to the Lao American community – because I
know many Queer Lao Americans who have invested so much time and energy
into making the Lao community better.

I want you to know that even when
Queer Lao Americans aren’t activists who fight for their community,
their Lao American experience is still a valuable contribution to our
shared Lao history.

I want you to know that you can join
the rights side of history. Not just in LGBTQ rights, but in the rights
of all marginalized people.

I want you to know that I’m Queer, and whether or not you accept that, I AIN’T GOING NOWHERE.