Emma Molls works as a librarian at the University of Minnesota, where they also oversee Pride@Work and the Pride Alumni Group for the University. When remote work became more common during the pandemic, they felt more confident expressing themselves through the clothes they wear.
“A year into the pandemic was an incredibly hard time for me, as it was for so many. But as we approached the second summer of the pandemic, I found myself happier than I had been for years. I was working remotely, no longer seeing people in person and no longer having to make the often dreaded decision about what to wear.
I found myself remembering my childhood summers as a 10 or 11-year-old, free from gender expectations. I grew up in the woods and spent summers running around with my siblings, without a care in the world about gender roles or traditional ideas of ‘boys’ and ‘girls.’
Summer 2021 made me feel like myself for the first time in a little over 20 years. I settled into my nonconformity.”
This interview has been edited or length, style and clarity.
Interview conducted by Mary Ellen Ritter.