“Queer Feminist Mermaid” Runs for U.S. Senate
Each year of my adult life I have become more and more interested in politics. While my focus has mostly been on national issues and campaigns, I'm trying to pay more attention to local politics as well. Over the weekend I saw an announcement for candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat in Maine that really stuck out.
Perhaps the most '2019' candidate Maine has ever seen, 31-year-old Bre Kidman is hoping to become our next senator and "the first nonbinary/queer senator."
Kidman was born female but prefers to use "they or their" pronouns according to the Sun Journal.
Kidman, who lives in Saco, is a "Criminal defense attorney by day & radical fat queer/performance artist/model/musician/activist most other times" according to their Facebook fan page. Kidman's stage identity is that of a "queer feminist mermaid" and their stage name is Bee Kay Esq.
Kidman doesn't have any restrictions when it comes to self-expression. They released an album entitled "Lies I Tell About Myself" which,
Tells a story about the darkest moments before the dawn in recovery from sexual violence, but does so with the same wink-and-deranged-grin as Bee Kay Esq.’s messy, fake-blood-and-glitter-encrusted burlesque...[it's] an album for (and by) the sort of people who want to roll down their windows, turn up the speakers, and rock out with their existential dread out.
In one performance art piece, Kidman sat in a kiddie pool on stage encouraging those in attendance to throw their cares and worries into the pool with glitter where she sat scantily clad.
Art has been a way for Kidman to deal with past trauma after being raped while studying abroad. This experience also motivated them to pursue law.
Despite Kidman's unconventional public hobbies, Kidman does not wish to censor their art in favor of a more traditional political public persona saying, "I wanted to be authentic. I wanted to show my work."
Kidman will be running as a democrat focusing on issues such as affordable health care and tackling the opioid epidemic.
Agree or disagree with the lifestyle or the policies, Kidman is certainly breaking the mold of Maine politics.
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