A Voice for Peace
One Writer: Many Communities
I see myself as…as an author whose work reflects a voice for peace; as an Arab-American woman speaking out for global human rights; as a mother promoting healthy living conditions for poor women and children; and as a lesbian advocating international equality for LGBT people. The process of living in so many communities can be very tricky.
Sometimes I don’t know which is more stressful: being “out” as a lesbian in the Arab -American community; being open about being of Arab descent in my local American community; being the “other mother” in the lesbian community; or being a writer about issues that affect poor women and children in the affluent profit-based world of publishing.
In day-to-day life it as if people see me walking towards them and many labels, cultural assumptions, prejudices, judgments, and other misunderstandings hit me like a freight train. Upon meeting someone it may take a while for them to get to know me or at least who I am in life. I see my role in this situation as one that begets patience, compassion and repetition in educating others about me, about my diverse family structure and my cultural communities. For example:
- In the heterosexual world, I often say things like, “No, I am not my son’s step mom, or the new wife of the ex-husband of his other mother. Well, my son has two mothers because I was married to his other mother.”
- In the LGBT community, I often say things like, “I was not married to a man. I have been a lesbian all of my life. I am both a lesbian and a mother.”
- In the Arab community, I say things like, “I can’t be quiet. I am a writer. That is what I do. Arab-American lesbians can live openly and publicly if they chose too. It is their choice. My parents accept and love me as I am. “
I am not saying that everyone should live openly today. How we chose to live is a deeply personal choice that each person must make individually. I only know that this is right for me. No matter what the consequence I will face it when it comes. I feel that being honest about who I am is essential to my growth as a writer which affects the quality of the literary work I will eventually produce. More than that, I believe that we need many small voices, artists and activists to be working toward the same goal so that one day our efforts will weave together providing the momentum to push our society forward…forward into a future path lined with peace, equality and compassionate human values.