Josephine K., 21, is a senior at the University of Minnesota studying strategic communications with a minor in UX design. She is a Black woman and identifies as bisexual.
“I do have my moments of feeling like I am leaning towards the non-binary end of things at different points in my life, but currently, I don’t think that I feel indecisive, but I definitely think I’ve had different thoughts about understanding where I fit on the spectrum.
A recent experience that I felt of joy was this past weekend, I had a movie-watching date with my friend Momo. We both have ‘Teen Wolf’ the MTV series in common. We both loved it as it was airing and still have a love for it, so when the reprise came, we had to watch it. The whole experience of making pasta with him and enjoying wine was fun. We enjoyed the time and watched the movie together, and there were just such great feelings of nostalgia. I felt that giddy feeling again.
I think this experience relates to my identity in the sense that I always just have enjoyed being part of a fandom-type community for a very entertaining piece of work, whether it be an artist or a show. I have that feeling and sense of belonging of community and understanding and getting references felt very at ease, I guess. Or, comforting.
In regards to my gender and sexual orientation, I feel like it connects me to that part as well because during the show I was very attracted to all the hot men, but also found myself being attracted to the female leads as well. When I first watched this I was at a point of questioning if these feelings were curiosity or I was actually having feelings. It kind of has that tie.
I think the communities that I’m a part of expand a large amount, to be honest. There’s many different ways people can identify themselves or identify with. I am in the community with women, Black women specifically, and also the Black community, as we all have different experiences in the world. As we embody those different identities, we also accept the fact that we have to deal with these repercussions we have to deal with societally.
Life is not meant to be lived without the presence of others. Especially those that are experiencing life similarly.
I personally haven’t had any experiences with the GSC. I actually didn’t really know that it was an exclusive community offered or prevalent on campus. It would be very cool to see more events or opportunities come from them. I’ll definitely have to take a look.”
This article was edited for length and clarity.
Interview conducted by Amena Ahmed.