Duck T. On His Queer Feathers

Ducks and Chucks,

Now, this humble pond manager wants you to know that he's more than just a pond manager. Yes, it's my job to reverse bottomed-up swans, give the peck of life to ducks who've been drowned by Sir Mallard's motorboat-waves, and generally try to maintain order at the pond. But I am also a duck who feels different.

Yes, I, my friends, am a queer duck.

If I'm ducking honest, I didn't use to think I was a duck. Though I was made of an intriguing polyester/cotton mix, I didn't think my feathers, beak, and flippers counted. "Real ducks," thought this pond manager, "have real feathers," but what I didn't see was that my feathers were real feathers because they feel like real feathers, and I'm a real duck because I feel like a real duck.

As Star Williams says, it's love that makes us real.

I love my feathers. Everything inside me knows they are real. Yes, they're fleecy, but that's something to celebrate. You should see how the other waterfowl flock in my direction as soon as the weather gets icy. They all want to snuggle me—I'm far warmer than most.

Star Williams, who is transcribing this post for me, used to think they were less valid too. They thought, "Everybody sees parts of me, but doesn't see other parts. This means that I'm wrong to feel like my gender's different to the one I was assigned when I cracked my way out of that egg." [Perfectly said, except for the egg bit—Star.] But they discovered that their queer body was just as real as anyone else's and that their feelings were what really mattered—because how else can we know and find our true selves?

As Lizzo says, "If you're feel like a duck, then you're real like a duck." [That's almost was Lizzo sings, so I'll take it. "If you feel like a girl, then you're real like a girl" are the truly amazing lyrics—Star.}

Anyway, because of all this realness, Star and I put together my special Instagram story, "My Queer Feathers," which you can watch from our Instagram profile here.

Also, if you're the kind of bird who likes to receive a personal letter once a month, consider joining my email list. No one else gets the letter my email subscribers receive—it's especially written for my friends.

Loves ya,

Duck T.