In memory of Rachel Crites and Rachel Smith

I live in the Washington, DC area and read about the deaths of “the two Rachels” immediately upon their disappearance and the eventual discovery of their bodies. As always when two young women die together, my partner and I wondered, were they lesbians? The Washington Post has not been forthcoming about the nature of their relationship. In fairness to them, unraveling the sexual orientation of two young people after their death is difficult. Nevertheless, making visible the challenges that face gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people is essential for mainstream newspapers like The Washington Post to be credible.

The Washington Blade covered the story in more depth. Ironically, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has recently released a report on homelessness among gay and lesbian youth. Homelessness being just one of the challenges that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teens face.

The most compelling things that I have read about the death of these two young women is by Carolyn Gage, a lesbian playright. She wrote an essay called, Shakespeare Got It Right, and a poem, For Rachel Crites. These are both hosted by Sinister Wisdom, a Lesbian magazine.

All of us at Woman-Stirred mourn the untimely deaths of Rachel Crites and Rachel Smith and work to create a world in which teen suicide doesn’t exist and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teenagers are able to live openly and honestly as who they are and receive the respect and support of their families and communities.