i'm a social worker from a southern state, so i sometimes struggle to find ways to present queer. if i'm too out and proud around some of the adults we work with, there's a very high chance to get hate crimed, especially when you already have their kids in custody... and being from the south, there's also the upsetting new narrative about queer folk being predators. so i tend to be subtle.
i have two exceptions! one, i have one horrifically tie-dyed rainbow button up that i wear multiple days in june. it was part of target's pride collection from several years ago and it's so ugly and i love it. i can get away with it in june as just a socially-conscious gen-z that is here to support the gays! or just a social worker that wears bright clothes for kids. i can sell it right depending on the day, lol.
the other way i try to offer subtle pride is by keeping a lot of flags around my office cube. i have one on my weekly calendar, one by my name plate, and one on my corkboard behind me. we don't typically have parents come in the back where our offices are but we do have kids back there from time to time, so i want to make sure that if they ever pass by my desk, queer kids can feel comfortable either a) talking to me as another queer person, or at least someone they see as an ally, or b) know that there is someone in that building that sees them. it's hard being in a state where being trans has been borderline criminalized and being queer is seen as a sin in the eyes of most. so hopefully little things like that help!
(i've had a couple of kids stop dead in their tracks and poke their little heads around my wall and go "you gay?" my favorite response is "don't i look gay?" because it makes them stutter and stammer over their words, lol; there's no good answer to that.)
