Billie T. Stark on…

Today our Managing Editor, Amanda McLeod, played a kind of word-association game with Featured Artist Billie T. Stark, to get Billie’s thoughts on – well, lots of things.

Photo by Amer Mughawish on Unsplash

Billie T. Stark on….

Secret identities:
Queer people know all about secret identities. Keeping things secret — keeping our true selves secret — has been essential for us to survive, to avoid being shunned or abused or even killed. 

Gender:
I know gender means nothing, at least the way society constructs it, but I admit I’ve chosen my allegiance. I worship womyn, the female. And even though I’m feminine, a “sissy,” I know womyn should NOT be trapped in one idea of what “femininity” means.

Coming out (or not coming out):
I want to totally come out. I NEED to come out… but it’s STILL scary — even with the progress we’ve made.

Being a womxn in a man’s world:
I’m not biologically a woman and I don’t know what that’s like, but in my soul I am a woman. I am, at least, NOT a man. I know what it’s like to not fit, to see most men as a different, frightening species, to see men as the Other. I’m sexually attracted to some men, but I don’t like men very much. I want to be with womyn. I’ve always liked and trusted women more than men.

Love:
Love in all its forms IS the glue that holds the world together. I don’t know if God exists, but as I say in my poems, I love my Jesus, my queer Jesus. The more I love and accept myself as queer, the more love I have to share. And that love grows, and my desire to be in service grows, and I need to put that love somewhere. I need to pray and meditate and be part of a larger force of love and light, And because I was raised to be a Christian, I have my own skeletal, agnostic “faith” that I am now creating.

Getting dressed (or getting undressed):
I love to be comfortable when I dress, and that means treating clothing as non-gendered. I like cute t-shirts, palazzo pants, flip flops. I like to do my nails. I sometimes like maxi dresses or sun dresses. I dress more like a girl than a boy, but clothing shouldn’t matter. People think they can hassle you or that you are being exhibitionist when you are just doing you.

Being supportive (or supported):
I would not be alive without the loving, supporting female friends I’ve had, the ones who loved me even though I’m queer. I would be dead. Truly. I try in turn to show as much love and support to others as I can. I want to channel love, to radiate love and light from my core.

What to say (or what not to say) to Billie T. Stark:
You can say that I am loyal to my friends. That I don’t get mad easily, but some things — like bullies and bigots and abusers — really piss me off. You can say that I’m sweet and gentle. But don’t fuck with me or my friends. Don’t ever think that I’m weak. I’m queer af, but I’m a bad little bitch.