A VISUAL STORY TELLING PROJECT BY MARIANA MONASI FROM PACHAMAMA CREATIVE CELEBRATING MOTHERHOOD IN ALL ITS FORMS. A PROJECT OF THE HAWAIʻI LGBT LEGACY FOUNDATION, PRESENTED BY CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK.
“Who am I? I use she/her/hers for pronounS. My fatherʻs side of the family is Choktaw Band of Mississippi, Irish, English and Scottish. On my motherʻs side, Spanish, Filipino and Chinese. Culturally I most identify with Filipino. Iʻm cis, straight, married; I have two children, Hercules is the youngest. Iʻm the only one who can call Hercules ʻHercʻ, no one else can.” — Galinda
“Communication is powerful,” says Galinda Kay Goss who is a member of the deaf community; her child Hercules grew up bilingual in ASL and English. Galinda has always been an active supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community–even performing at Pride events with Hercules–and has helped other parents accept their queer children. “Do you love your child, regardless?” sheʻll ask them. “Then just have a conversation.” Mariana met with Galinda and Hercules at their family home in Makakilo.
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“Motherhood is nurturing, caregiving, taking care of their social and emotional needs…their physical needs, supporting their independence. The most important thing is communication between child and mother.” — Galinda
“In junior high school youʻd bring friends to your room. So I really let [Herc] have it. I was like, ʻItʻs not fair, youʻre taking advantage of the fact that I canʻt hear. How would you feel if I did that to you? Hello!ʻ So Herc would just be like ʻHi, can I have a friend sleep over?ʻ and Iʻd be like ʻSure, thanks for letting me knowʻ. I donʻt care what happens in that room…” — Galinda
“To be honest, growing up, I didnʻt feel like she was protecting me. I think it was because my dadʻs energy was so palpable and so raw that it overshadowed her protection. You never said any thing to defend me in the moment, but I realize that sheʻd always fight him behind closed doors. She didnʻt want to do it in front of me, to increase the trauma. But then something happened… you were always a tough woman…” — Hercules
“I know Iʻm 66, but I feel like Iʻm in my 40s. My crowd of people that I hang out with are people that are 30 and 40. And Iʻm like the oldest of the group, so they call me ʻAuntyʻ.” — Galinda