These eight LGBTQ+ Kansans make Pride Month worth celebrating. And all the other months, too.
LGBTQ+ Pride Month in a red state tends to have a certain edge. Even the most earnest celebration of freedom and belonging can feel like one of those disposable plastic ponchos, quickly unwrapped to keep off the rain. You appreciate it, you value it, but it can't last forever.
Yet us gay people persist in living across all 50 states, and in every country around the globe besides. We're most definitely here in Kansas.
You can make a joke or two about the Wizard of Oz (heck, I even wrote a column about it), but we're still here, we're still queer, and we're still asking everyone to get used to it. Rather than opine about the meaning of the exercise, I thought I'd kick off the month by highlighting eight LGBTQ+ Kansans. (A hat tip to our friends over at the Manhattan Mercury, who published a similar list last year.)
If I left off important folks, please let me know. We have a lot of June left!
Melissa Etheridge
The Leavenworth-born singer-songwriter rocketed to fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A husky-voiced rocker, she blazed trails by coming out publicly all the way back in 1992. She's since recorded a live album at the Topeka Correctional Facility.
William S. Burroughs
Beat-adjacent writer Burroughs was born in St. Louis and notably lived in Tangiers and New York. He relocated to Lawrence in 1991, however, and lived there until his death in 1997. The city's Burroughs Creek Trail now bears his name.
Rep. Sharice Davids
The state's Democratic representative for the 3rd District made history in 2018 as the first LGBTQ+ and Native American member. She has now been re-elected three times, which perhaps should raise some eyebrows among national Dems.
Cassandra Peterson (Elvira)
Any child of the 1980s (and I was one) knows the vampy Elivira on sight. The woman below the wig was Manhattan-born Cassandra Peterson, who revealed her two-decade relationship with a woman in her 2021 memoir.
Janelle Monae
This Kansas City, Kansas, native first caught my husband's eye through her 2010 album, 'The ArchAndroid.' She has since recorded more albums, acted in movies and now identifies as nonbinary, using she/her or they/them pronouns.
Gilbert Baker
Born in Chanute and graduating from Parsons High School, Baker created the iconic rainbow pride flag in 1978. Queer icon Harvey Milk, the San Francisco politician and activist, asked him to do so. As an unwelcome note, the Trump administration plans to remove Milk's name from a Navy ship. Just to show that Making America Great Again includes insulting a slain veteran.
Stephanie Byers
Former State Rep. Stephanie Byers of Wichita was elected in 2020 as the state's first transgender lawmaker. Suffice to say, she put up with an awful lot during her term in office. However, I found her grit and vibrant personality a constant inspiration.
Matthew Vines
The Wichita native Vines attended Harvard and caused a sensation by arguing that Christianity doesn't condemn same-sex marriage or relationships. He founded the nonprofit Reformation Project and wrote the book 'God and the Gay Christian.'
Bonus: your Kansas Reflector opinion editors
This might sound like a bit of a cheat, but so be it. Both founding Reflector opinion C.J. Janovy and yours truly have written about our community many times. Janovy even published a book on the subject. Listen, living here might not always be easy. But there's still a heck of a lot to celebrate.
I plan to spend at least a bit of time doing just that.
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
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