The LGBTQI Pride Parade was today in Los Angeles, and instead of riding with the Dykes on Bikes, or watching with friends and then going to Booby Trap, the queer women’s pool party, I found myself blissfully biking down to the beach, then along the beach… then texting cancellations. Basically, I’m more into chill activities these days.

So instead of riding with Dykes on Bikes in the parade this year, I decided to scan and post an old picture of me riding in it. (My how times change.) And then blog about how the sign my ex-girlfriend was holding said, “Hermaphrodykes on Bikes”. But that’s a lie, because I couldn’t find that picture (if you look you’ll notice neither of us is holding a sign). And even if I had, the sign actually said, “Hermaphrodykes for Peace”, because we’d used a sign we still had lying around from an anti-war protest.

Anyway, despite all that, this picture’s still relevant to this post’s title because it was taken the year I confirmed that I was intersex, and thus an intersex lesbian. 1996: the first year I was knowingly a hermaphrodyke on a bike. And hopefully, if I can rally for the parade next year, I’ll be a Hermaphrodyke on a Bike once again. (FYI, I’m the driver in the pic, and I used this one because you can’t tell who my ex is in it, and I don’t have time to run this by her, but I’m not exactly unhappy to have an excuse to use the kissy one.)

Well, I just wanted to dish out a little queer visibility today, in honor of the holiday, so that’s it. (Okay, full disclosure, I also have plans, and I don’t wanna cancel them.) But before I go, I should be clear that there’s a lot of intersex people that aren’t L, G, B, or T— but just I, and to all of you I say: you can still celebrate!  Happy Herm Pride everyone.