Three Voices: Anonymous Narratives from Queer People of Color

By primo Lagaso GOldberg

Kimberle Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to describe the ways in which various disenfranchised identities that each of us hold come together in our body and through our narratives to form complex webs of systemic oppression and disenfranchisement. For instance, while a white woman faces sexism, a Black woman is confronted with both racism and sexism, and it is impossible to separate these identities or consider one without the other.

In the past decade, the idea of intersectionality has gone from a concept usually discussed in academic circles and in conversations about critical race theory, to a term and idea understood through Instagram stories, graphics, and NPR podcasts. Diving into this idea, YR Media’s Primo Lagaso Goldberg crafted an audio storytelling piece focusing on the narratives of three queer young people of color. We hear how they came into their identities, the struggles they face as QTPOC, and words of wisdom and strength for their communities.

Names and identities have been omitted from this story to both protect the identities and encourage a sense of safety for the storytellers and also to place focus on the narratives and words themselves.