Mike

Mike Hanson: born and raised in Marinette Wisconsin.

When I was sitting for this portrait I was just laid off from my long-term job at a local advertising agency and surprisingly feeling so relieved that I finally had some me time. Don't get me wrong, I loved what I did for work but there has been little time for exploratory events in my life like having my portrait painted for this amazing project, and many other life affirming projects where you can see the true good in yourself and the community. When I look at my face I see sadness, but you should know that I'm excited for what lies ahead.

Alex

10" x 8"

My name means "protector of humankind". I chose it because no intention I have is greater - except perhaps of love. I am a hopeful romantic who still believes, despite what I have seen and been through, that love WILL conquer all. I find this to be the best gift my upbringing gave me, as a guy who was raised as a girl. Living in both worlds has given me access to insights I would have otherwise missed. Being genderqueer has taught me that as individuals, both men and women feel pain, sadness, oppression, and alienation equally. Despite what we've all been taught, all people want nothing more or less than happiness and love. That love isn't about who gets more or less - that love is about recognizing we are equally flawed, equally broken, equally valuable, and equally deserving. Society's expectations hurt all of us. This is the furrow in my brow. I am concerned that love isn't being spread rapidly enough to get sadness, frustration, and oppression before they go through puberty and become hate. We are all amazing. We all need to hear that and believe it more often. We need to spread it around liberally and deliberately like janitor's white paint over hate graffiti: believe in the beauty of your truth - even knowing we all have a different one. This one is mine.

Theresa

I am a recovering homophobe.
I am out but not always proud.
I am an advocate, albeit reluctantly and unwillingly.
My story is not new, unique, or untold.
I am a cliche, a stereotype, a punchline.
My sex is female.
My gender is butch.
My sexuality is lesbian.
My identity is fluid.
My head can sometimes be found in the clouds,
but my feet never leave the ground.
I am Midwest Queer.
And I am a recovering homophobe.

Elisa

10"x8"

I think of myself as being generically queer. For over ten years I exclusively partnered with and dated women, and that was lovely. Most recently I became involved with a man, and that's also been lovely. I have a fear of my queer identity being erased or misunderstood because of being in a heterosexual relationship. But I've come to realize that my own queer identity does not depend on the gender of my partner or even having a partner at all. Regardless, I'm a somewhat androgynous woman with experience loving all kinds of people. I'm happy with that reality.

David

I'm David. I'm gay. In a lot of ways that I'm not complaining about, I've lived a pretty sheltered life. I grew up in a liberal part of a liberal town. In seventh grade, my teachers brought couples straight and gay to visit our class as part of a unit on human sexuality. (Also featured was Woody the educational wooden dildo.) In the first eighteen years of my life, I was called "homo" in total one time, and it was kind of a novelty, like "would you look at that—a bigot!" Not everything in my life has been totally fabulous and amazing, but when I think about how things would have been for me only fifty or sixty years ago, life seems pretty good.