Halo’s Cortana Helped Me Take Pride in Coming Out

Happy Pride Month! We’d like to share a longer read on a cross-over between coming out as a gaming nerd and a lesbian. It is part autobiography, part short story (credit to biomythography and Audre Lorde here), but pure Black Nerd Problems. This is a long one, but something we think will move you. Have some Halo history, and have lots of Pride. Happy Pride Month to all! Girl Stuff The first time I played Halo I was 11 years old at my best friend Danielle’s house. I remember it so vividly. It was one of the first times I recognized that there was a true difference between “Boy Stuff” and “Girl Stuff.” I mean sure, my mom always asked for the girl toy at McDonald’s and never thought to ask me if I wanted a Hot Wheels car, but even then it never dawned on me because well, she never asked. It never really mattered to me until that moment. Danielle’s dad was a retired Army Captain, so they had it pretty well off. They lived in one of those gated Army Reserve Suburb communities. Giant brick homes with huge backyards. The inside of their home was just as you’d imagine a Black suburban family home. White walls, black leather couches, and random scattered African artwork including Leroy Cambell and Synthia Saint James paintings. (You know the paintings of black people with no faces. The ones everybody has.) Even though they were scattered with seemingly no purpose, they were there to remind you that you were indeed in a Black family home. Fighting Tools, 2016 (Leroy Campbell) You know…