By Angelia Sparrow
I’m writing this on Jan. 21, my sister’s 53rd birthday, the day before my mother would be turning 79.
Yesterday, That Man (Southern for “the Enemy”) was sworn in again as president. He wasted no time in decreeing that there is only male and female, and the sex you are born is the sex you must present all your life.
Fascists always go after trans folks first. The very famous Nazi book burning photo was taken at the Magnus Hirschfeld Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, that is the Institute for Sexual Science, which was doing research on all branches of sexuality and had done some of the earliest gender-affirming surgeries.
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The rest of the QUILTBAG is on the hit list, along with ethnic and racial minorities, women, and non-Christian religions. It’s not a good time to be an openly queer author who writes explicit same-sex romances.
Amazon has started hiding such books from the search engine. Pre-emptory compliance.
It’s all of a piece with Don’t Say Gay Laws and book censorship in schools and libraries. Now, bear in mind, when I say censorship, I’m not referring to the library purchaser’s decisions on what to buy for the collection. No library can afford all the books published in a year, and not every book is needed for every collection. An engineering college will need much different books than a general public library.
I am talking about outside forces telling a library they may not keep a book on their shelves. Usually because someone must Think of The Children.
It’s a scary time right now. We don’t know what is going to happen exactly or when. We know things like this can move very fast. The Hirschfeld book burning took place May 6, after the January 30 inauguration. The first concentration camp opened 2 months earlier, in March.
Some writers I know have quit writing, and quietly pulled their books. They have stepped away from social media, some even deleting theirs. They have families to worry about, jobs and more. That’s fine. We do what we need to do to survive. Many members of my church are planning to relocate to Minnesota this summer, for much the same reason.
I’ve considered it. I’m in a position professionally where Nick Rowan and Dean O’Bedlam (my drag persona) could vanish into the ether. I can write cozy mysteries about bakery owners finding dead bodies while walking their dogs. Or whimsical fantasy. Or anything without sex.
But personally, I am in a position where I can’t. I’m queer. I am out, proud and a little loud. A lot of people don’t like the word, but it’s the only one that works. My wife of 35+ years is a trans woman. My husband of almost 10 years is a trans man. My daughter-in-law is part Hispanic. My grandsons are Native. Both of the active priests in my church, plus many of the congregation are trans. We are all squarely in the crosshairs.
And I have forgotten the cardinal rule: Don’t draw fire, it annoys everyone around you.
One of the tenets of my Primali faith is Divine Defiance. It is my sacred duty to stand there, in the crosshairs of this regime, stick my tongue out, waggle my hands in my ears and sing scurrilous songs. The Bardic Right of Ridicule has never been revoked.
I haven’t published anything for a couple of years. I’ve written a few things. But after the election, my writing seemed to kick into high gear and I am hard at work on a super-spicy piece for next December and a couple of novels. Nothing terribly exciting to share yet, but you will hear when it happens.
For now, keep your eyes open, your ears sharp. Stay alert. Hinder where you may.
And remember: Granny Witch Loves You.
Angelia Sparrow is opting to stand tall. (as if she actually has any options on that front). You can follow her on Facebook here. There is also her crafting partnership, The Travelling Tinkers. She is valarltd on Pinterest, Threads, BlueSky, Mastadon and LiveJournal; WitchGrannyAngel at TikTok.