By: Beth

Ahh Carmen thank you for that 'who gets to be femme' piece <3 <3 I needed this piece for so many reasons and share the authors' questions. Yes language evolves. Yes queer culture is constantly appropriated by the mainstream/capitalism. Yes the word queer feels like it's losing its meaning. And yes I'm fucking mad about it [and constantly questioning whether it's okay to be mad about it...] Today I spotted a super-trendy straight-owned company that makes 'gender neutral' clothing (I mean, they're like joggers and t-shirts so, yeah - radical -_-) with "Chosen Family" splashed across its front page *puke* - after sending in my complaint, came directly to autostraddle (it's an automatic response when dyke rage descends, I don't even notice myself typing "a-u-t-o...") and ahhh...soothed. Thanks for providing an ever-relevant, nuanced, comforting home for all of us in a world of erasure <3