I made this little piece while goofing around with footage I captured during LA's first Downtown Proud Festival — shared it quietly with friends on National Coming Out Day and left it at that. Then the temperament changed.

The juxtaposition at the heart of it — Thatcher's painfully dated speech against modern imagery of my queer family shamelessly reveling in their own skin — felt bittersweet when I made it. It feels necessary now. Watching her warn the world to keep children away from homosexuality while fully formed, luminous humans exist so unapologetically in the frame is cathartic in a way I didn't anticipate.

As for the title — we reclaim what was used against us. That's one of the things I love most about this community. This word haunted me through middle school. Now it's a love letter.

Celebrating our strong queerness is more important than ever. This one's for my glorious queer family.