06/05/2026
On love.
Before I began transitioning - before I even knew I was a women - I worked with an organization called Lititz Chooses Love (now Lancaster County Chooses Love).
Most people who follow my work actually had no idea about this. I never sought credit outside of the photography work I did for them, nor did I make any public connection between myself and the organization. I wasn't hiding, but I felt for me to do my best work there, I should keep my business and volunteer work separate.
But we live in a different time than we did when I was with LCCL. And I'm a different person.
A lot of words get thrown around when we talk about Pride month activities. People who otherwise support and love Lititz turn to division and sometimes even hate when confronted with something they don't understand. Phrases like "don't shove it down my throat" are a common refrain. Some even imply that LGBTQ+ people are not welcome or do not belong in Lititz. And almost universally these are people that claim to LOVE Lititz. The town, it's people, it's businesses, and it's history.
I have been a Lancaster County resident nearly my entire life. I've lived in Lititz since 2018. I am a small business owner who has contributed to the tapestry of this town since I moved here and switched my focus to capturing the beauty of it. Quite simply, I am part of this community. It is a fact that I, a trans woman, have contributed to this town as an individual, a creator and artist, and a small business owner.
Further, LGBTQ+ people have *always* been a part of Lititz because we've always existed. I won't go away simply because my existence is an inconvenience to you.
So the question is - are you comfortable with excluding someone like me from the love you have for this town? Does knowing I am a trans woman change the connection people have to my art? Or the connection my work has to this town?
More importantly, does hating me and people like me make Lititz better? Does excluding me make Lititz better? Does hate make anything better? And before you answer, consider how you would have answered a year ago, before I came out as a trans woman.
If the only reason you dislike someone in the town you claim to love is their gender identity, do you actually care at all about the town?
I was always told that love is best given unconditionally. Whether or not you "agree" with the sheer existence of trans people is irrelevant. I exist and am part of this community. And I'm not going anywhere.
The paradox of tolerance tells us that if we allow intolerance to exist, it spreads like a disease - pushing out tolerance and replacing it with hatred. This is not about differing views. This is about my right to exist in a world as myself without be forced to hide or worse.
The Lititz Pride Festival is tomorrow. And it's being held at a time when people like me are being increasingly demonized and hated simply for being who we are. THAT is something that is NOT welcome in the Lititz I know and is why LCCL was originally created - to stand up to a hateful act of vandalism.
I'm Ava. I live and work in Lititz and I am a trans woman. I love this town. And hate cannot stop me just as it couldn't stop the Lititz Pride Festival.
See you tomorrow, Lititz. Choose Love. Happy Pride.
-Ava
(check out images from the Pride Festival I captured from previous years!)
