Queer Inheritance

Elders are not just storytellers and teachers, but guardians of cultural heritage and stewards of spirituality. The elders in my biological family passed mostly in my teenage years, taking with them their stories, lived knowledge, and guidance. While the gravity of intergenerational relationships is evident across communities around the globe, these kinds of relationships are often absent or harder to cultivate within the queer community. By exploring the impact the absence of such relationships had in cultivating my own queer identity, Queer Inheritance takes a closer look, through cross-generational dialogue and photographic preservation, at the cultural necessity these relationships have within our chosen families.

Paul Monette, writer and activist whose life and writing inspired this project, wrote shortly before his AIDS-related death in 1995 on the loss of a queer friend and elder, “I understand now that it wasn’t just a friend who’d been taken away from me, but an elder and a mentor. [She] was my pioneer, a link to the dreams that made me different, the push I needed to go my own way”.

Queer Inheritance calls upon the legacies of those who fought for us today, emphasizing what we could lose from the absence of intergenerational chosen families from both a historical and spiritual perspective. These portraits inspire us to recognize our own potential, serving as a reminder that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights is not only within living memory but presently unfolding. These works ensure that our history remains powerfully visible by highlighting those whose lives and experiences established the foundation we build on.

Political gay rights activist and storyteller, the late David Mixner, expressed to me while making a portrait for this project, “I feel like before I go, I have to shut out the lights for my generation”. As a storyteller myself, these portraits are my contribution to the custodians of our queer inheritance, a link to the dreams that made me different.