Proudly Dancing
EDWINA XIONG, GWI ‘20
EDWINA, A 2022 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY GRAD, WRITES ABOUT WHAT PRIDE MONTH MEANS TO HER.
Love is love. Up until 2020, that phrase meant nothing more to me than any other recycled Instagram caption or overused quote plastered onto an Urban Outfitters t-shirt. It seemed obvious enough that people should have equal rights and be able to love freely.
Midway through my sophomore year at Princeton University, just months before my summer intensive with GWI, that all changed. Overwhelmed with confusion, shock, but above all, fear, my world as I knew it came crashing down. Security, I decided, triumphed over love, and in that moment, they were mutually exclusive. I was desperate, and my pride was trampled by embarrassment and fear.
Very slowly, after a secretive and strenuous process of tears, combined with unconditional support from friends, mentors, and others in the LGBTQIA+ community, I began to creak open my closet door.
A difficult barrier came in the guise of a new environment – corporate work, particularly the finance industry where queerness seemed to be seldom found.
Attending queer conferences (shoutout O4UB!) and pride events at my workplace forged a sense of community and belonging, aiding in my navigation of queerness in the corporate setting.
Fast forward to now, two years later, I am incredibly proud to be out. This Pride Month I was traveling Asia for nearly all of June but still captured some moments with rainbows!
Pride Month for me marks a time of interlude between justice and joy, celebrating queerness, but also using my newfound voice and identity in hopes of disarming prejudices.
As Gertrude Stein said, “You look ridiculous if you dance. You look ridiculous if you don’t dance. So you might as well dance.”
I’m a dancer.