We Cannot Let Them Win

I’m sitting in a hotel room in Denver as I write this. Tomorrow begins Fan Expo Denver, and I’m in the artist alley with my friend, Matt. I’ve been up since 2am Mountain time, driving for about 12 hours to get to the Denver Convention Center before the docks closed for load-in. It’s a little after 9:30 p.m. right now. I just showered after eating.

I’m tired. Exhausted.

But it’s not just about this one day. It’s not just about the physical exhaustion I’m feeling right now.

Every day, I get news in my inbox, some of which I share on the Intersex News page here, about intersex people around the world. Their struggles. Their triumphs.

But, y’all, it’s a lot more struggles than triumphs. For every wonderful piece of news like the debut of River Gallo’s film Ponyboi, I’m reading a dozen piece of news in which intersex people are losing their rights.

And it’s just so exhausting. We’re just trying to live our lives, to be seen.

I also know that this is how bigots want us to feel. They’re trying to beat us down with the sheer volume of their attacks. It’s a good strategy, but only if we let it work.

I’m going to sleep soon. Then, I’m going to get up tomorrow, refreshed. I’m going to table at Fan Expo Denver and talk about intersex rights as much as I talk about my fiction novels. I’m going to hand out stickers of the Intersexion logo. I’m going to get more people to sign up for this newsletter.

In short, I’m tired, but I’m going to sleep and come back swinging. We cannot give up. We cannot stop fighting. I sure as shit won’t.