When the Money's Gone

(yes, posting about gay people and fair-weather rainbow capitalism by using a Cher song is on the nose. I don't care)

In my personal and professional life, on an individual and community level, I’ve been facing the music that is knowing NOT EVERYONE IS A REAL FRIEND.

I would never use the term “trender” to invalidate a trans person but I sure would use it to invalidate people who are “allies” when it is convenient, popular, and lucrative.

The people who will hop on the Jellicle bandwagon but not invite trans people to have a voice in a day-to-day, meaningful way. (We have also had trans people in shows like Cursed Child pretty much the entire time, whereas “allies” could give a fuck about us).

The people who will latch onto and leech off of trans celebrities but ignore the rest of us.

The people who will happily take our labor and money, but not so much as text us when we are recovering from surgery or when our rights are being taken away.

The people who will make rainbow shit but disappear July 1, or even didn’t bother to keep doing pride stuff this year, once it fell out of favor.

Whereas some people are putting their money where their mouth is, or even just being kind, caring people, which matters a lot, too.

So when the money’s gone… will YOU be a friend?