All about me...

Good morning from the tiny map dot of Blakely, GA, a rural farm town in the SW corner of the state. I am 44, white, and identify as a lesbian. Also, clearly a non-traditional student looking to learn new things out of curiosity, not necessity. I am back in school after a 25 year 'busy living life' hiatus and am working on my BIS Online at GaSou. I am fully aware using the phrases 'white lesbian' and 'rural farm town' in the same breath can prompt thoughts of oxymoronic nature but I actually love the fact I can include those as part of my identity. I have positively affected many people's understanding of the term LGBTQ(IA) in this town...I have to give partial credit to presenting a feminine appearance to the prior statement, and partial credit to my caring, warm, and very extroverted personality. Though I have such a positive experience being a lesbian in the rural south, there are also challenges when it comes to getting men to understand that I am not a lesbian because I haven't "met the right man" yet...and also to get hetero men to understand that lesbians are not man-haters by nature, ha. I actually am quite fond of people of all gender identifications. What I am most looking forward to in this class is learning more about pronoun use related to gender identification. I have lived all over the US within the past 25 years and feel privileged to have been a part of many diverse communities - learning as much as possible along the way. I was heavily involved in the gay marriage rights movement (’08-’10) while living in Philadelphia and learned a lot about activism during that time. We have come a long way but still have so far to go.