Pride Month 2022 Interview Series: What Does Pride Mean to You, Azul?
This month we are chatting with LGBTQIA content creators, sex educators, sensual artists and overall inspiring folks! We are exploring how their identity journey has influenced their work and involvement in sex education. To kick off pride month we chatted with My Sex Bio Studio instructor and content creator Azul.
My Sex Bio: What does having pride in your identity look and feel like to you?
Azul: I feel the most pride knowing that I'm accepted to be free to explore all facets of myself. From my spiritual earth fairy to my femme fatale, my quirky kawaii and tomboy skater girl. I love that I’m a queer shapeshifter and can connect with so many unique humans. I’m proud to say that I’m attracted to energy above all rather than any physical or superficial form.
My Sex Bio: At what point in your life did you begin to openly identify as queer?
Azul: I’ve been single for a few years now, and this past year I lived by myself for the first time ever. I had a lot of alone time to really reflect on my ideal partnership. To me it’s all about energy.
Because I’ve had a feminine womanly figure from a young age, I attracted a lot of attention (most of the time unwanted) from young men. Heteronormative relationships were just more available and in a way thrust upon me because of what I physically attracted. It wasn’t until I gave myself space to be alone, explore my erotic self and heal from sexual traumas from men, that I began to reclaim my sexuality and gender expression.
That’s also why I go by the name Azul. It feels more neutral and fluid, like me. It’s a nice way for me to softly share my identity to friends and family if they ask about it.
My Sex Bio: Do you recognize any defining moments from your life that influenced or informed your identity/gender expression?
Azul: I grew up watching Project Runway, America's Next Top Model, reading fashion magazines and DIY’ing all my clothing. Drag, in my opinion, is one of the most creative outlets of fashion expression there is. I love experimenting and playing with gender bending looks.
Also, when I moved to a new city by myself, I was meeting a lot of women off dating apps, and every time was so unsure if we were on a “date” or just hanging out as friends. If I liked them, I would be nervous about making the first move because I was also just wanting to make friends. I remember once I met a girl who then introduced me to her bf so it was obvious we were just friends, but then we’d go out drinking together and she’d want to make out with me. I could tell that I wanted something more and it felt unfair to their relationship. We still keep in touch and I only see her as a friend, but little things like these made me feel sure of my attraction to women as partners.
My Sex Bio: How do you feel your identity and self-expression has potentially influenced your personal work?
Azul: My identity evolution has been very healing in the way that I’ve been able to reclaim my sensual being. I’ve infused this practice into the meditative sensual dance classes that I guide, where I invite people to breathe into their senses and be curious in exploring their bodies. Being comfortable with and in tune with your body brings self-confidence and hopefully inspiration to find what truly pleases your physical temple.
My Sex Bio: Why do you feel it’s important for the queer community, especially, to have access to better sex education?
Azul: Safety and support. People in the community are often more subject to riskier sexual situations, and more potential diseases because of our sexual openness. Most traditional sex ed taught in schools is already getting so many things wrong, but it’s definitely not inclusive for queer folks.
It's important for us to have access to resources and most importantly to the community to be able to ask questions and feel seen and supported.
My Sex Bio: How do you feel your identity influences your work in sex education?
Azul: I feel as though I bring a unique perspective as a Latina queer femme. In Mexico City where I’m living now, there is a LGBTQ scene but it’s mostly just gay men. I think it’s important to show different sides of what being queer can be expressed as. Especially within Mexican culture, as lesbian relationships are still somewhat tabooed.
My Sex Bio: Is there anything that you wish people would view differently within the queer community?
Azul: I wish people wouldn’t fixate so much on labels, terms, and pronouns even. They are beginning to divide us by creating new structures and restrictions of identity expression. The idea is to break as many of these down so we can all live more fluidly and freely.
For example, folks who identify as non-binary but get upset when strangers call them by the wrong pronoun. Like how are people who don’t know you personally supposed to know what you identify as? And why should you care?
Or when people place standards on what non-binary, trans, lesbians should physcially present themsleves as.
