During the whole Chick-fil-A fiasco I watched in horror as people attacked one another all in the name of a stupid sandwich. I saw my gay friends and family being hurt by the hate, ignorance and anger directed towards our community. I also saw many straight friends and family attack the very core of who I am and what I stand for! I must admit that I was hurt. I cried many tears over the venom that spewed forth from people that I thought would take the side of what is human and just. I was unfriended by several on Facebook due to standing up for my family. I was also called "narrow-minded" by one specific "friend" from highschool. Narrow-minded because I would not denounce my gay community and our rights as humans. So, finally, I retreated. I stopped reading about the support days and how this was all about free speech. I stepped back from reading peoples posts about fairness and equality. I put my head in the sand! This action of retreat was so far removed from who I am that I grew a bit ashamed. I didn't know what to do to help our community. I wondered if I was strong enough to do anything at all.
When I finally started to peep out of my hidey-hole, I looked at what others were doing. I wondered what my first step should be to reclaim the proud lesbian that I knew mysef to be. Finally I heard from the deep recesses of my being. "Write" it said. "Do what you do best. Spread the word." So I decided to do just that! I wanted to feature some people that were fighting back against the rhetoric so I began to search. Imagine my surprise when I saw a clip of two young girls singing a song to Chick-fil-A and realized that I knew one of them. Chrissy Chambers had dated my son a few years back. She had visited our home and my son had flown to Mississippi to visit hers. They had gone to prom together. I knew her as a quiet but strong willed young woman with a love of acting. Now, here she was with her girlfriend, Bria, singing a fun little ditty about homosexuals. I knew that I had to get in touch with both of them and find out how two young 20-somethings got the moxie to put it all out there.
Following is my talk with Chrissy Chambers and Bria Kam. Enjoy getting to know two very talented, caring and in love young women. Show your support by visiting their websites and Facebook pages. You may even want to buy their song knowing that you decide how much you want to pay for it and 50% of all proceeds will go to 'Freedom to Marry,' a group that fights for gay marriage. Please support them so they can keep making music for us!
So, chick-fil-a-got you really riled up huh? Tell
me why?
Bria: Ha, yeah I guess you could say that. We have been on a mission ever
since Dan Cathy spoke out against homosexual marriage. We do want to make one
thing very clear though, our argument is not about Cathy’s freedom of speech;
it is about the fact that a huge company supports organizations that prevent
homosexuals from equal rights. Plain and simple.
How did
the video/song come to be?
Chrissy: Wednesday’s
customer appreciation day was the real turning point for us. We went to show
our support by ordering water, and kissing in front of the “Welcome to
Chick-Fil-A” sign, as we left we began talking about an idea to write a song
that we could show to the world.
Bria:
When I got home I sat down at my piano inspired, not mad, and wrote the song in
about 2 hours.
What
made you want to take it mainstream?
Bria: We
both had the desire to have our voices heard; we wanted to do it in a peaceful,
silly way. We went and protested at multiple Chick-Fil-A’s, but we knew that
that wouldn’t be enough. By making a video, we knew we had the ability to reach
the masses and really have our voices heard.Now our main goal with this video is to help raise money for
organizations like “Freedom To Marry.”
Tell
me about the feedback, both positive and negative.
Bria:
It’s
been very mixed, Thankfully it’s taken a more positive turn in the last 2 days,
because the first responses were pretty brutal. Here is an example of some of
the things people have said to us, “You guys are just a couple of trash digging
fag*ot psychopath, homosexual whores,
cool hope you get HIV bitch.” Let’s just say we’ve never read the word skank so
many times in our lives. But it’s when we read comments like this, “You two make a beautiful
couple and what you're doing is helping more people than you know. Thank you.”,
and having multiple people coming out to
us on Facebook, that it makes all the harassment worth it.
How
do your families feel about the fact that you took this stand so publicly?
Chrissy:
My family has shown such strength through all of this, I’m from small town
Clinton, Mississippi where they don’t regularly wave the pride flag. I came out
less than a year ago, and ever since, my parents and my two older sisters have
been my backbone, filling me with courage and love. I couldn’t ask for anything
more amazing that the openness and support my family has given to me since day
one.
Bria:
My parents have always been super supportive and very involved. I came out when
I was 16, and have felt completely adored both before and after I came out. My
family is fully aware of how defiant of the norm that both Chrissy and I tend
to be, so it’s no surprise that we both turned out to be performers and it’s
even less of a surprise that we both have chosen to stand up for our beliefs.
Chrissy, I've
known you for a while now; actually my son took you to prom.Have you always known you were gay?
Chrissy: I don’t tend to define myself as gay, but
then again I don’t tend to define myself. I fell in love with a girl, and
that’s all I know. Once I knew I wanted to be with Bria the rest was easy and
fell into place.
Once
you knew that Bria was the one was it hard coming out in rural Mississippi?
Chrissy: When
I came out, I trusted my own instincts that my family would be supportive.In regards to Mississippi, everybody else’s
opinions frankly do not matter.
How did you two
meet?
Chrissy:It was pretty
romantic, I went out with some friends in Atlanta and in my mind I wanted to
meet a female performer, I never had dated a girl at that point, and sure
enough I walked into my first ever gay bar, and this beautiful brunette
approached me. We were both pretty crazy about each other ever since.
How long have you
been together? Bria: We have been together 9 months now.
Have
you felt any fear of retribution since the video hit?
Bria:It was only 2 days ago when my friend Marshall
said to me, “Bria you girls need to be careful you are a real target to predators”,
that I finally stopped and realized, wow we really put ourselves out here, and
that’s terrifying because you can’t turn back. But I know that the pros
outweigh the cons and that we’re fighting for equality, and there’s no such
thing as an easy fight.
What do
you hope to accomplish with your new found voice?
Bria:I keep having this reoccurring dream.Chrissy and I end up on the Ellen show, and
at the very end of our interview Ellen goes well we have a surprise for you and
she pulls out this check for $500,000 and she says this goes to any charity of
your choice. I know that seems a little
eager, but you can’t really help where your dreams take you.
What
goals do you have moving forward with this?
Bria:We have many goals, raising a couple million
to compete with Dan’s contribution would be a great start, but mostly we just
want to spread awareness.
Any new
songs that we can look forward to?
Bria:Well of course! We
have two that are pretty much written. We plan on filming one tonight actually
entitled, “I Have Two Moms.” We also have so many more ideas that we are eager
to put into action. We love that there is a great avenue for our creativity and
for our voice!
Who do you hope to
reachwith your message?
Chrissy:That’s a hard question.We would say the gay community, in particular
the troubled youth. We want them to know that there are those of us out there
fighting on behalf of them.But, even
more, we hope to reach the closed minded who fail to see the homosexual fight.
Bria:I guess we would have to say that we hope to reach everyone in the whole
entire world.
15.Do
either or both of you have a message to Dan Cathy?
Both: "Your food is
delicious we’re really going to miss it."
16. There
are so many LGBTQ teens as well as adults that are afraid to come out for many reasons.What
would you like to say to them?
Bria: Life
is hard, and being gay doesn’t make it any easier. Just remember we only have
one life, so live it for yourself and not for others approval, and don’t allow
others to define you by your sexuality. Most importantly always remember to
appreciate your support system.
Your song
and interviews have been featured on several media outlets now. Name a few.
Chrissy:
The New York Times Blog, The Advocate, After Ellen, and Project Q.
What
are your hopes for the gay marriage issue?
Bria: I
want my children to read about this issue in the history books just like I read
about woman’s suffrage and civil rights. I want my children to think of me as
old for being part of the last generation that didn’t have total equality.
What are
your hopes for your relationship?
Chrissy: Bria
and I are taking in every moment with each other and enjoying our new found
love. The fact that we both feed off of each other’s craft, mine being acting
and Bria’s being singing, has allowed us a unique bond and purpose that has
strengthened our relationship.
Any
last words or a song that you would like to leave people with?
Chrissy: I’m not quite sure
why this song came to me, but it feels appropriate. “Seasons of Love”, fromRENT.All anybody wants in life is love, homosexuals
are no different, I wish people could strip all their insecurities and just get
to the core, that life is about love, that’s what this song is about and that’s
what we are about.
Many thanks to both Bria and Chrissy for making time to speak with me. Thanks also for restoring some of my hope that one day we will all be equal. Please visit their sites and help them to help us!
