Raven Oak is usually known for their sci-fi and fantasy work, however, they're venturing into a new genre this August by stepping into the past. For 13 years, Oak was an educator in a Texas middle school. Surrounded by classic early-aughts homophobia and transphobia, combined with Texas "Christian values," they observed the cultures and realities of Queer life in one of the least welcoming spaces in the country. However, after stepping away from the world of education and coming out as Queer and Nonbinary, they've realized their silence is no longer for sale.
Voices Carry is the emotional true story of the sacrifices and stakes facing thousands of LGBTQ+ educators and students in classrooms across the country. Though the book was written about Oak's experiences over a decade ago, the themes seem as relevant as ever, which was one of the reasons they felt so compelled to share their story with the world.
"With everything going on with both politics and society right now, especially within the Queer community, [with] a lot of the hatred and things that have popped up, I felt now was the time," Oak said. "There's a lot in my past that I've gone through that I know can help other people realize [they're] not alone. There are a lot of people going through a lot of horrible things, but there's strength in numbers. Having your voice and using it can help others, and it can help yourself."
Though Oak was always aware of the growing anti-Trans rhetoric in states like Texas, they could no longer ignore it in 2020. "It was during the pandemic that I came out to my friends and family as Nonbinary," they said. "It was also during this time that my wife came out as Transgender. There was a lot of change in my relationships."
A useful tool
Seeing the toll anti-LGBTQ legislation was having on their community — especially BIPOC members — reminded Oak of the harrowing experiences they had as an educator. They recalled having to fight to keep their job, advocating for the rights of Trans students to use their names and pronouns in the classroom, and facing bigotry from their colleagues daily.
"We're seeing things in Florida and other states where it's like, 'No, you're not allowed to call a student by the name that they're called by — it's not on their birth certificate' kind of craziness," they said. "For me, having experienced a lot of those things, now was the time to talk about: How did I function in that? How did I deal with those situations in my classroom and my life? How did I deal with that? That was the impetus for Voices Carry."
Oak wrote Voices Carry with LGBTQ+ students and educators in mind, but they also hope the book can be a useful tool for cis/het teachers to build empathy. "I want non-Queer educators to read it so they can have a better understanding of what it is like to be in the classroom and be that vulnerable, especially when there are laws that are trying to make you illegal, to limit you like that," they said.
"They need to have a better understanding of that for their colleagues," they continued. "We focus on making sure our students are protected to some degree, but there are not a lot of people looking at what it's like to reach out to colleagues who think you are a demon or a devil because you are Queer. The thoughts that happen in a lot of these religious communities, it's scary. I want those people to read it for the humanizing aspect of it, but to also give them better vocabulary so that they can not just help their students but their colleagues as well."
Making the world a better place
Expanding access to a wide variety of LGBTQ+ books also helps those in the community recognize that they are not alone. It took Oak a long time to realize they were Queer, in part because some identities, like Genderqueer and Asexual, aren't talked about as often. "I grew up in a very religious household, and Queer people were just bad and evil, and you just didn't talk about [them]," Oak said.
It wasn't until they grew up that Oak realized they could be on the Ace spectrum. "I didn't know that demisexuality was a thing. I had no idea. I thought I was just broken. Later, somebody in the Queer community who I was friends with mentioned being Ace, and I was like, 'Whoa, what's that?' ...They were talking about asexuality, and that led to a conversation about demisexuality. I had the 'it's me' conversation with myself."
Oak hopes that their book can reach other young Nonbinary and Asexual people and help them recognize that there is a community out there for them. "I had the same realization being Nonbinary too. I thought gender was binary sex...until I was older and then exposed to other people [and realized] that representation matters. That's kind of my hope with the book too: that people will read it and get a better vocabulary set and...figure it out for themselves."
Oak knows that sharing their truth, even when it's scary, is helping make the world a better place for the next generation, which is what inspired them to get into teaching. Now, it inspires their words.
"There are more of us on that spectrum than people realize," Oak said. "I think that society has made it so that everything is a binary set. We already figured that out with autism. Well, [it's] the same thing with gender, the same thing with sexuality: there is no black and white in that. I hope people will read this and have their own eureka moments about who they are."
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