Sister Katie Kizum

Transplanted from the Russian River, Sister Katie is happy to be bringing a little River Magic to the Emerald City!

Do I make you uncomfortable or embarrassed? Good! I am who I am and I'm not going anywhere, so get used to it! One of the things the Sisters do is to fight for Queer rights and visibility, because it's not just OK to be whoever you are, it's fabulous! You have a right to be exactly who you are, and to strive to be whoever you want to be, and no one else has the right to tell you who you should love or how you should live your life.

Have you known anyone who has died, or had their lives significantly changed because of HIV infection or AIDS? So have I. Do I worry that as HIV/AIDS treatments become more effective that HIV/AIDS prevention has started to seem less critical? Yes, I do. It concerns me that when the Sisters go on pilgrimage around our community on World AIDS Day that there are increasing numbers of people who either don't know what day it is, or don't know (or don't know they know) anyone living with HIV/AIDS. So wear those red ribbons openly and proudly, and whenever possible!

Queer youth: they are our community's future. They are the next generation of Sisters. They will shape what it means to be Queer over the next 30 years. How can we support them, pass on GLBTQ history, and continue to strengthen our community? I was fortunate enough to be able to learn about gay history first hand from history makers while I was in college, and while living in San Francisco in the 90's, but even that was only a small fraction -- a few facets -- of that brilliant disco ball that is Queer culture!

 

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