Member-only story
Come Take a Peek Into the Minds, Lives, and Fears … of Queers
Paige, Lori, Mark, and a dozen more inspired me to share their poignant stories.
Paige is smart as a whip and fiercely articulate. She knows where she came from, who she is, and what she wants. I met her in a meeting one night in a church at the end of a dark cul-de-sac. She sat tall in her chair, face chiseled with determination, silver hair tucked neatly behind her ears.
“I’m 74 years old and a widower,” she said.
Yes, Paige is a widower. That’s not a typo. She was born male and lived her entire life as a man. When that man’s wife died a year ago, she became Paige. Paige is not her real name, nor are any of the names in this story.
Vestigial threats
To better understand the community, I began attending LGBTQ+ meetings in a nearby town. I admit to scant knowledge of this world, so I feel like a voyeur, anxious and intrigued by its hidden mysteries.
Their world should not be hidden, nor should it be mysterious. It shouldn’t even be a separate world.
Humans evolved with an instinct to flee or fight against anything different because the unknown posed a…
