NUJLS

This past weekend I attended an NUJLS (National Union of Jewish LGBTQ Students) conference held at my university.  What can I say? It was awesome.  Great people, good food, intense learning sessions.

Though no one there was quite doing Judaism the way I do it (some did "more", some "less"), seeing other LGBTQ Jews being both Jewish and Queer reassured me that it can be done, that I needn't shut the door on either part of my identity. I can be a proud Jew, and a proud lesbian, and a proud Jewish lesbian.

The coolest moment of the conference was when someone stopped me to double check my gender identity.  I was wearing a pink polo, dress pants, red flowered clogs and a pink kippah.  I was talking about being a Jewish adult woman, and someone stopped me to ask, "Wait, you identify as female, right?" I just said yes and the conversation kept going.  I didn't think anything of it at the time, but looking back, it was infinitely cool, both that it happened and how it happened.  I felt very validated, both because someone thought to ask and because the other answer would have been OK with her.

I also recently came out to a friend to whom I was in, hiding because I was afraid of her reaction.  She was accepting, however, and now I don't have to worry about that relationship anymore!

I am a lesbian Jew, and a Jewish lesbian, and I am proud.