And I Say to Myself, What a Wonderful State

It’s very strange to see Minnesota get so much attention lately. When out governor, Tim Walz, was first rumored to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, our state has been in the news a lot. Personally I like Walz and I am excited that he is potentially going to be our next vice president but also a little sad that we lose him as our governor.

What is also interesting is to see how we as Minnesotans are reacting to the attention. It’s impossible to say that everyone has the same response to anything, but there’s a lot of pride in our state right now. There’s a lot of things that we do really well.

One of those things is inclusivity. Minnesota probably doesn’t come to mind when one thinks of states that have made progressive changes and laws, but we’ve done more than I feel one would expect.

That progress is clear when you are out in the community. Not only the queer community, but the state’s community as well. Of course, it would be naive to say that everyone in the state loves everyone in the LGBTQ+ community, but I am pleasantly surprised at how relatively few negative interactions I’ve had in all the years I have been out en femme.

I would like to be more involved in the queer community. I like collaborating with others and working with similarly minded people. This past weekend I was able to meet people in the queer community and discuss working with each other.

I was asked by Smitten Kitten, a really amazing sex-positive giftshop (as they call it) that sells everything from sex toys to books to clothes as well as host education workshops, to join them as they tabled at a Venus DeMars concert.

According to the internet, Venus DeMars is a Minneapolis-based transgender musician, visual artist, and performer. She has been performing since the 1980s, notably with her long-running glam-punk band, All the Pretty Horses.

Venus was the first trans-femme person in Minneapolis that I was ever aware of. I was excited to meet her and I was interested in working with Smitten Kitten.

So I went. Which was surprising because I don’t like leaving the house or being out at night lol. I spent the afternoon doing a little shopping enjoying the fall weather (but it’s going to be like 90 today, boo) but as night approached it was time to meet up with the Smitten Kitten staff.

I met so many amazing people and we talked about projects and it was just a really wonderful night. It’s incredible living in a city with such a tight and supportive queer community.

Love, Hannah