Finding Home in Louisville: Teresa Willis

Teresa Willis

Highlands, she/her

Why’d you pick that photo?

This is me and my mom, my sister posing us in front of the tree by the garage back when photography was a precious process. I’m about 12, so my mom would’ve been 52. This photo encapsulates so much. A warm fall day in Valley Station. The geekiest version of myself on full display. Our easy relationship before the turbulence of adolescence really set in.

What’s the biggest issue facing Louisville’s LGBTQ+ communities? What do you think would help solve that issue?

Nothing is more invisible to society than a childless, husbandless, post-menopausal woman, no matter how they identify. If they are un-partnered and queer, it can be very lonely. The bar scene isn’t appealing. There are welcoming churches now, but it’s hard to shake the old pain of alienation.We end up depending on each other. But I know there are others out there who are falling through the cracks.Women’s earning power was pretty limited in the boomer and X generations, and we didn’t have the benefit of a male partner’s salary throughout our lives like many of our straight counterparts. Louisville Pride Foundation is a great start for our community in general, but we need a concerted look at our aging population and need LGBTQ+-focused support of all kinds — navigating systems, financial advice, estate planning, aging-in-place strategies, community events, mental-health services. Some entity that sees us in the context of our sensitivities and traumas, as well as our talents, wisdom and the legacy we represent — and gives us a framework for resources.

Anything about how you identify that you’d like to share?

I’m bisexual, but I like ‘queer’ as an identifier. It unites us as non-heteronormative, which is a specific experience, no matter the era.