Since this is just a new chapter in your friendship and the film is about friendship, has there been a new definition of what friendship means between the two of you, or is your friendship still the same but a stronger bond?
Harper Steele: I think I have a kind of new definition. Well, I think I have. What I appreciate most about friendship in general, and what I’ve started to understand a little bit on this trip, is friends who really take the time to listen to you. Those are real friends, and I have friends like that. I’m lucky to have friends like that. But I didn’t really realize how much effort it took. And I thought, “Oh, yeah, I feel better knowing this. Maybe I can be a better friend now.” It was a learning experience for me.
As a writer and creator, you put a lot of yourself into your work. Now that you’re in a new phase of your life, has anything changed in your work? Do you feel like your work has more depth now that you’re able to express your true self? How has that impacted your creative process?
Harper: So, yes, there are certainly areas of comedy that I’ve learned to avoid out of respect for trans and queer people in general. That’s something that developed long before I transitioned. Before I transitioned, a lot of myself was on the page in terms of repressed feelings, and I used the page to express that. So, that’s interesting for me, because since I transitioned, I haven’t put that on the page as much.
Source: BuzzFeed – LGBTQ – www.buzzfeed.com
