Yanni is a nonbinary Black person who was 25 at the time of recording. They talk about growing up in east Harlem with parents from Jamaica. Yanni covers what it was like attending an all white middle and high school and the class differences they experienced. They discuss how jarring it was to go from an afro-centric household, in a Black neighborhood, to a white school. Yanni covers having anxiety and panic attacks since high school and growing up in a nichiren Buddhist household. Yanni talks about being exposed to Lesbians from a young age but not identifying as a Lesbian until 2021. They discuss how clothing, tattoos, and piercings impact their gender and Lesbianism and well as struggling with identifying as a Lesbian. Yanni talks about how race, Disability, and gender impact their interactions with other Lesbians. They end with a discussion on when they are meeting Lesbians, what identifying as a Lesbian means to them, and what Lesbian spaces they wish existed.
marginalized identities
black lesbian | african american lesbian | nonbinary lesbian | trans lesbian | lesbian of color | class disadvantaged | mental illness
zodiac
aries sun | aries moon | virgo rising
interview location
Brooklyn, New York
date recorded
01/07/2023
keywords
nyc native | east harlem | they/them | mental illness | psychic | anxiety | colorism | compulsory heterosexuality | class disadvantaged | immigrant | jamaican american | creative | artist | musician | african sprituality | caribbean | nonbinary | predominantly white institution | private school | mental illness | desirability politics | queer nightlife | black queer nightlife | nyc native | east harlem | mental illness | anxiety | compulsory heterosexuality | immigrant
