I didn’t know or she showed it to me

By Valeria

I didn’t know or she showed it to me
I didn’t know the word abuse, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the word monopsony, she showed it to me
I didn’t t know the meaning of the word land, she showed it to me
I hadn’t seen how dignity performs, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of the word queer, he showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of the word colonial, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of the word unseeded, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of the word beauty, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of the word abuse, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of the word erotic, she showed it to me
I didn’t know the meaning of DARVO (deny attack reverse victim offender) she showed it to me
I hadn’t heard interpretative violence, they showed it to me
I didn’t know white Anglo people didn’t listen, they showed it to me
I didn’t know pronunciation was so political, she showed it to me
I didn’t know you had to define abuse to define love, she showed it to me
I didn’t know I was trans, she showed it to me
I didn’t know how to speak up for trans people, she showed it to me


Valeria or (b. mid 90s) is a Mexican-Armenian, high-fem non-passing trans artist, currently living as an uninvited guest in the unceded, ancestral and traditional lands of the Lenape and Canarsie. Her research and theory based art practice has coined the terms: curatorial betrayal, group specific, bitchy art and open series. She sometimes curates and writes. She sometimes performs in art spaces as Valeria or bitch.