In any marginalized community, whether people identify themselves or not affects us all.

I cannot name this, I cannot explain this, and I really don't want to so just call me shameless.

Then I show up steady ready and proud and I find I've forgotten how to talk out loud. Isn't it just like you to bring me to my knees?

My main tactic is to focus on the people I respect. The people I think are great people. Do I have their respect? Do I have their support? If the answer is "yes," then I'm doing ok.

People need something or someone to fasten themselves to in order to reassure themselves that they are real.

You've already put more than enough energy into worry. That's all women have been allowed to do, historically.

When I was a teenager in the '80s, I was the only girl in the guitar shop. Now if you walk into a music store, it's mostly teenage girls. It's great! It's an expansion of possibilities for young women, finding a way to tools even if they aren't directly handed those tools by adults.