"My personal transformation began by being born into a deeply religious— specifically Catholic, more specifically, homophobic family. Catholic doctrine teaches that we are all descended from Adam and (st?)Eve, and the first original sin, represented by a simple apple. The devil, having taken the form of a snake, whispers to Eve, tempting her to take the fruit and eat it— the apple from the tree of knowledge. Of course, God has forbidden this. Eve does it anyway. Not only does she eat the fruit, she then tempts Adam into partaking as well… therefore women are responsible for tempting men into sin.

THIS is what I was told as a child, THIS is what we were ALL told. This patriarchal, victim blaming nonsense is what has lead to things like rape culture—- to the state of the world that we are currently being forced to endure. Essentially the basis for this religion and the moral of the story is that men may sin, but when they do, it is only because women tempt them into it.

Therefore women are sinful. Their bodies, their minds, their mere existence— it’s all inherently wrong somehow.

When I got to art school I began unpacking this, one piece of ridiculous trash at a time. Slowly at first, and then quickly dumping out the whole thing. You’d be surprised how easy it was, after a lifetime of essentially being brainwashed. It was becoming queer. It was learning to trust my body, to shake off the inherent shame that the Catholic Church instilled in me. It was learning that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I found myself part of a tight knit queer community, exploring gender and race theory for the first time… It was as simple as taking one delicious bite after being told not to for my whole life—- and then devouring the whole apple. I gained access to the forbidden truth, the truth that they never wanted us to know.

I guess knowledge is power after all.

No wonder they never wanted us to have it."