“Being raised as a girl by a laborer father felt like I was expected to be a tomboy working in a ‘man’s’ field. As someone who grew into something other than a woman, it’s hard for me to ignore my chosen field in relation to my gender and sexuality. I’m a vaguely male queer person dating another vaguely male queer person, yet we are both usually seen as two women. I’m often assumed to be a lesbian, which makes it hard to ignore the history of lesbian craft workers who went into predominately male fields. By choosing metals I am both playing into the stereotypes of a queer ‘woman’ working as a laborer while trying not to conform to the stereotype of being a man working in metal. Metalworking seems to be on the rise as a popular career choice amongst more and more (visibly) queer people, which creates a feedback loop of support. The more queer connection I can get through metal art, the more I feel safe and welcome in the field, the more I hope more queer connection will be generated."