15 years before It Gets Better, Team Dresch were telling queer kids the same kind of story in a way that is, frankly, a little more my speed.
There’s something defiant about these kinds of songs, defiant in a way that is less about “put up with things until they change” and more about “maybe the world doesn’t get you, but you are amazing.”
And I think that there’s value in that. Not in just getting through until the magical day when a queer kid can move to New York or LA or Seattle or Portland or Austin, but girding ourselves against our own places, our own homes, and recognizing not only that we can escape, but that we are amazing right the hell where we are.
And as somebody who has quotes and lyrics tattooed all over her arms, of course I think that someone has already said this perfectly:
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. – Maya Angelou
beyondthetext 