Welcome to “Seven Minutes in Heaven” GO Magazine’s brand new interview series that profiles a different queer lady each day, by asking her seven custom (sometimes random) questions. Get to know the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of the groundbreaking, fierce forces-of-nature in the queer community.
If you don’t follow The Glam Femme on social media yet, then you’re missing out. Patricia Martin the founder and CEO spearheaded this project to focus on her writing and it has taken off since then. With posts on the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender, Martin dives right in without holding back.
From topics like “#MillennialGirlMagic” to “The F!@#%&* Word” and “America, Police Your Racism” she really covers it all, and with an innovative femme touch. Martin hopes to provide space for femmes to feel positively uplifted in the fact that femmes can be smart and multi-dimensional all while looking fabulous rocking both heels and makeup.
GO Magazine: What was the genesis of your blog?
GF: I’ve always wanted to write books since I was little. Since I was like 8-years-old I’ve always had stories in my head, but I thought that wasn’t a lucrative career choice. So I went to law school to pursue other goals and worked in social work for a bit. My other passion was always writing and I always figured I’d start that after my career and felt established. After the legal thing didn’t go as planned, I figured I’d just go in for the writing dream.
I’ve always started and stopped writing books throughout the years so I decided to just go for it, this time. One of my exes suggested that I start a blog just to get into writing again. I had never thought of it but it’s allowed me to have my focus be on writing. When I took a break from my job and focused on my blog, it really started to take off. I really love doing it and want to continue it as I write my books.
I didn’t expect it to take off as much as it has, but it’s been amazing. Especially when I wrote a piece on cultural appropriation, I got a lot of new readers. People want to see the ways politics intersect with fashion.
GO: How do you approach representation in your content?
GF: Lately I haven’t had too much backlash but I did get some backlash on the cultural appropriation article. Mainly just comments on Twitter or Instagram when people are being trolls. I try to incorporate intersectionality gender, race and sexuality and also the importance of being a woman (or a femme) and being cognizant of social issues and wanting to like fashion.
A lot of the times people think you have to choose one or the other; like you can’t be smart and also want to wear lipstick. So I think it’s important to show that we’re multifaceted with many different layers all with the overarching identity of being femme. There are so many different types of people who can identify under one label.
GO: As we face tenuous and scary moment politically, what gives you hope? What fuels you to keep existing in your own revolutionary ways?
GF: It’s very hard for me in my personal life to not let things get me down. That’s why when I go to my Instagram or blog I pull out this positivity—it’s to help me, not just everyone who follows me. Obviously, we all need it. I have to get myself to that place before I sit down and write because I might be feeling discouraged. But there’s got to be a way we can think about it in a way that we can move forward together or cope. Sometimes you can only think about living in the space you’re in and existing and being okay. I think it’s important to remind myself that and help other people realize it too.
GO: What does femme mean to you as a queer identity?
GF: Anyone can identify as femme. A lot of times it’s seen as a negative thing like you’re weak if you’re femme. But I think that it means strength. Just the fact that we’re able to thrive under all those false stereotypes, shows this. It reminds me of the lessons my mother taught me about loving unconditionally and just being yourself. Femme can mean whatever it means to you and can be expressed in so many different ways. That’s what is so special about being femme!
GO: Do you have any feelings on fast fashion recently co-opting our identity for profit?
GF: It’s the same as the word feminist being capitalized. I actually got one of the shirts that said femme-something from H&M but they sent me the wrong one. Then I saw a shirt in Forever21 and thought ‘why would I want to get that and allow them to capitalize off my identity?’ It’s such a toss up! I wanted to get it to represent my brand but when you think about it, it’s really not right. We have to take a stance somewhere. We have to put our foot down. And awareness is the first step. People need to be educated and understand why some of these things might be wrong.
GO: Who is your fashion icon?
GF: Rhianna. Even though I don’t dress like her, I love the way she wears whatever she wants. She gives me the bravery to try new things.
GO: What advice would you give to young LGBTQ femmes who are struggling to feel seen?
GF: I think my biggest advice is to find your group of people who are like-minded. It can feel very invisible, even in queer spaces. But the more people become open with themselves, they’re able to find their niche. Who you are is important!
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