“Validity comes from within, not at the hands of others.”

This piece is inspired by going through life as someone who does not identify as their assigned gender at birth. Personally, I do not feel connected to either of the binary genders, and recently, I had one for the most negative experiences in my life surrounding that. This piece is to remind me, even when others disagree with my choices or think that I don’t understand what I’m talking about, that I know who I am better than anyone else could. The eyes represent the perceptions of others, and how everyone sees me differently. Some people simply memorize my pronouns but still see me as a woman, some take to heart how I feel about gender and genuinely alter their view of me, and some, like the experience this piece is based on, disregard my feelings completely because it’s too much work for them, or they don’t think it’s right. Being a visibly queer person is a struggle, but I know who I am, and that validation is what sustains me.