As a lesbian, PDA feels like it might have consequences.
I’ve experienced this feeling time and time again when I kiss my partner.
Shes braver than I am.
We both quickly adjusted our gaze.
But I recognized myself in this stranger.
They suddenly seemed less alone standing there in the aisle of the grocery store.
…
Their body language looked familiar.
It reminded me of myself as a closeted teenager who had seen two women kiss in public.
Thatepisode aired with a parental advisory warning.
And I cant forgetthe coming out episode ofEllenin which she confesses her love for another woman.
Both episodes offered comedic relief, but the character also expressed panic that there would be consequences.
As a I descended the stairs from the D train platform, I kept my eyes on them.
They kissed, and I mightve even tripped.
The moment quite possibly affirmed deeply buried feelings about my own identity.
I looked around waiting to see what the consequences would be for expressing their love out loud.
I remember the feeling of dread (or was it butterflies?)
in the pit of my stomach.
And I imagined that I might one day be the person who would share a kiss in public.
I wish I had walked up to them and said, yo dont ever stop kissing in public.
Instead I waited for laughs or gasps from a live studio audience that, of course, wasnt there.
I wanted their love, where finally the butterflies never rest.
I kiss my future wife to keep the butterflies afloat.
Your reminder: Kiss in public, hold hands in the frozen foods section of your local grocery store.
Too much history of queer love has been spent in the shadows.
Your kiss could be the crystal ball into anothers future.
A public display of gay affection proves existence.
When I kiss my fiancee in public, time stops.
The embrace brings relief.
Our kisses are for all the queers before us whose kisses never made it outside.
…
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