2023-24 | Page 52

HANDS ‘ Violence is a corrective tool .’ ~ Cis man , queer
( He / Him ) I can ’ t have soft hands . Soft hands single me out .
They make me weak . Soft hands are outcast hands and outcast hands will not be tolerated . So , I fight . I hit punching bags and people . My violent hands communicate a bluff . My hands say , I ’ m not one of them . I ’ ve thrown them off the scent . Calluses harden my knuckles and scars trace across my fingers like white thread . These are real man hands . The scars and scuffs keep me safe . I ’ m hidden . I ’ m tolerated .
Queer joy has no currency here .