RuthAnn G.

Amatonormativity
This fall I lived with an incredibly close friend who became emotionally abusive after we moved in together. As I was going through this and sharing my experiences with those around me, many failed to recognize the abuse, that would have been recognized as such in a romantic relationship, until it had severely escalated. I didn’t have an abusive roommate, I had a “shitty roommate.” When I reached out to Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse, I was asked if my roommate was a family member or “intimate partner.” When I said they weren’t, the response was “I don’t know why you were referred to us,” and, “Sorry for wasting your time.” Not only was I not given support, it was strange that I was even asking for it. When we create a society that places romantic relationships over platonic ones, this is one of the many ways people are hurt.

Nothing Without Us
Nothing
About us
Without us

Who are we?
Physically disabled, intellectually disabled, mentally ill, neurodivergent, mad crips
We are queer and trans
And Black and Indigenous and Latine and Asian and White
Women, men, nonbinary, agender, every gender
Migrants and refugees and citizens
Every nationality
Every language
Every religion

Whether or not you see us
We are in every space you are
We have every need you have
We bring those needs to every space

Nothing
Without us

Celestial Crip
i looked up
at the sky and i
saw myself

this world was not made for people
like me

my bodymind aches
from the pressure to be
something i cannot be

inside me lives the tension
of a star
about to supernova

i cannot escape to live
among the celestial bodies

so i placed yellow stars of pain on the deep blue sky of my body
and made myself
a constellation