November 2022 Update

*ID: “November Monthly Update”* *www.freedomoklahoma.org/news* *and the FOK logo. The background is a picture from Pride with a light blue overlay with orange and blue lines and dots*

Throughout this season we’re sending you love and support.

We’re running full steam ahead into election day and approaching the end of the year–full of holidays grounded in our grief and those that mock the grief of some of our community members. We’re in an ongoing pandemic, and times are tough–physically, emotionally, and financially. It is without a doubt a heavy season for many of us. We can’t minimize that. We don’t want to. And, in what we hope is a balm for your spirit, we want to connect you with the deep joy of our community right here in Oklahoma.

When we kicked off 2SLGBTQ+ history month in October, the project of collecting and sharing stories from community members was a delight to our team. If you missed out on any of the stories, you can revisit them across our social media platforms, and soon we’ll have what we hope to be an ongoing archive of stories and histories, on our website.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Photo of Ryan by Epli Photography from the back seat of a vehicle with red interior, with a man in a black western-style hat with tattoos and a mustache, holding a small child with light hair wearing a white shirt with floral print, both looking direct to camera.

Ryan is a trans dad, pictured above, deeply in love with a queer human, and intentional about the joy and community of the 2SLGBTQ+ spaces we create here in Oklahoma. In a self-submission, Ryan shared “It is always hard for folks to believe it when I say that OKC has been a mecca of queerness for me, but it truly has. I transitioned here at 18 and thanks to sites like planet out, live journal, and myspace, I was able to make friends that I still have today. Friends that introduced me to the Wreck room when it was still booming and provided me with the awareness that I was FAR from alone in this mid-south state. I graduated from UCO at 24, Moved to Los Angeles, then San Francisco, and spent 8 years away from Oklahoma until 2020 when Oklahoma called me back. The 2SLGBTQ+ population of Oklahoma and the community we have here is HUGE. It can be hard to see when you are struggling to find your place in the world, but we are everywhere. The politics do not represent the people. Legislation cannot stop you from thriving and living a meaningful life where you are valued.”

Photo by Allie Phillips-Shinn of two tables of people talking, laughing, making signs, with ALIBIS in metal letters on teal painted boards of the wall behind them.

Some of our Freedom Oklahoma team and Oklahoma City-based photographer, activist, and Elemental co-owner Allie Phillips-Shinn joined folks at Alibi’s Wednesday, September 28 to chat with the organizers of Dyke Night. In a post that was flagged as a community violation for hate speech on Instagram, organizer Taylor, any pronouns, said “It really just started me and MJ, I think, just wanting a space for lesbians and just to be around other lesbians. And then it became a very inclusive, fun night where we just got to be around people that can relate on a very fundamental level and just feel really safe and comfortable. And just relish being really f*cking gay.” We know how important it is we document and tell our stories, even when we face mainstream censorship.

Photo by Allie Phillips-Shinn taken from the side of a pool table, Taylor, in a black shirt, and a gold chain, laughs as they set the table up for another game of pool.

We lifted up stories from young folks involved in the new organization Cousins, an intentional space for Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth to be in community. Soup, a Choctaw Two Spirit dude said of the experience, “Cousins is a cool group because you get to meet other people like you that you wouldn’t meet otherwise. It helps you know you aren’t alone.” Cousins hosts monthly talking circles and activities including ribbon skirt/shirt making, drag makeup tutorials, hikes, art classes, and kayaking. You can support the work of Cousins by donating via PayPal to MatriarchInc and adding “Cousins” in the note.

A photo shared from Cousins of 9 people in kayaks in the water with their fists raised, smiling at the camera. In the background are trees and a blue sky with clouds, another kayaker in the distance.

We got to share so many stories, and with help from the Metropolitan Library System, got to share out resources for documenting and sharing your own stories, and plugging into archival resources (you can still email Meg.coker@metrolibrary.org to share your personal history and 2SLGBTQ+ experience with them as well as contribute photos and/or other materials). We hope you’ll continue to share your stories with us to share out into the world, and that even as things feel especially tough, you’ll find joy and solidarity in our broader 2SLGBTQ+ community across Oklahoma and Indian Country.

Throughout this season we’re sending you love and support. We hope you’ll continue to reach out to us as you have needs or are looking to plug in, whether that’s for support organizing at your school board level, search for mutual aid resources like those provided by Tulsa Intersectional Care Network or OKC Trans Crowdfunding or Serve the People Oklahoma, information about abortion access in a post-Dobbs landscape, or anything else. We’re building a future where all 2SLGBTQ+ people have the safety to thrive, together. Thanks for letting us document and share some of your stories along the way.

A few things we’re reading, watching, and listening to right now:

The documentary Pray Away on Netflix which was screened at Rodeo Cinema 10/11 (CW: abuse by clergy and mental health practitioners, so-called conversion therapy, so-called ex-gay ministry), and the way these harmful practices are being treated as fact in Oklahoma policy spaces.

Local voter guides, like those from League of Women Voters of Oklahoma and the Curbside Chronicle.

This episode of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform’s podcast, Pulse, featuring Executive Director Nicole McAfee.

This playlist in celebration of the gay rodeo finals last weekend in El Reno.

Books with asexual and/or aromantic representation from the AroAce Database.

This blog from Trans Lifeline about the limitations of language.

This 2020 profile published by The Bitter Southerner on the late gay icon, Leslie Jordan.

Rainbow 'Neath the Western Sky, a 2SLGBTQ+ history month project by the LGBTQ student alliance at OU.

Important Links and updates:

YAM Art Contest

With YAM fast approaching, Freedom Oklahoma will be hosting an Art Contest, and the image will be the visual for YAM 2023! The art can be any medium that will translate to 2D- photography, painting, drawing, graphic design, etc. The winner will receive $100 and several “banned” books! Your entry needs to be able to answer this question:
**What does showing up for community mean to you?**
This could highlight community building, being active in community organizing, showing up for one another, you name it. Just tell us what showing up for community means to you! The deadline for entry is by the end of January 2nd. Submission limit is 2 entries. Age limit is 25. The winning piece will be used on social media and print to represent YAM 2023. The winner can decide how they would like public credit for their work (i.e. aliases can be used if needed). We at Freedom Oklahoma look forward to seeing what you create!

Submissions can be emailed to Taylor Raye at taylor@freedomoklahoma.org. Please include your name, age, school (if applicable), and where you are in Oklahoma in the submission email. PDF is best for attaching a submission. If you need to make other arrangements for submission, please contact them via email or by call/text at 4052942573. **Check out our YAM resources from last year for inspiration on ways art can be resistance.**

"YAM 2023 Art Contest! Submissions due January 2nd!" on a zine-style collage of paper, paintbrush strokes, film photos, images of people creating art, colored pencils, and blotches of paint.

2SLGBTQ+ Virtual Community Groups

"Freedom Oklahoma Virtual 2SLGBTQ+ Community Groups" "Teachers & School Staff: Tuesday, 11/8 Parents/Guardians: Wednesday, 11/9 Students: Thursday, 11/10" and "2SLGBTQ+ youth organizing & GSA support" with a picture from an Oklahoma school board meeting on a paper collage background with the Freedom Oklahoma logo.

TSET Smoking Cessation for 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans

Reminder:

TSET and FOK have partnered to assist 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans who want to quit smoking through community engagement and social services. Participants will be paired with a counselor, nicotine replacement therapy, and FOK for volunteering and community engagement.

Those who complete the 12-week program are eligible for up to $200 compensation. Enrollment is open and ongoing!

Sign up!

Watercolor rainbow background with the Freedom Oklahoma logo and the words “Empowerment Project: Smoking Cessation Study for LGBTQ2S+ Oklahomans.

How to support our work

*Orange background with white text in all caps: Support our work*

So many of you are asking how you can help right now, and one of the key needs is always your financial support. Through your support, we can continue to organize, educate, and build a future where all 2SLGBTQ+ folks across Oklahoma have the safety to thrive. One way some folks choose to give is by making us their selected nonprofit on smile.amazon.com. While we as individuals and a community actively try to divest from Amazon, we understand that for reasons that range from accessibility to monopoly of a product to convenience to budgeting means many folks end up still using Amazon to order things throughout the year.

For every order you make through the smile.amazon.com URL, you can select Freedom Oklahoma Education Campaign LTD as the benefactor and .5% of eligible purchases will make their way to us. You can also always visit freedomoklahoma.org/donate, or ask about how you can partner for profit shares, giveback days, and more. We're so grateful to each of you who chooses to give--every dollar makes a difference in our capacity to do meaningful work on the ground here in Oklahoma.