Eventually, Monet acknowledged that she wasn’t ever going to be happy dating men. While she found serving fulfilling, her romantic relationships were not. Monet enlisted in the Air Force four years ago, and she poured herself into her career in patient administration. This upbringing, combined with compulsory heterosexuality - the societal assumption that people are and should be straight - lead Monet to date men only. However, Monet was raised in a religious Black family, and despite clear signals she was a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, being gay seemed beyond the realm of possibilities. She loved comics and remembers being around 5 years old when she asked her dad if she could marry Wonder Woman.
When Shakira Monet grew up in New Jersey, she experienced some very early signs that she wasn’t like all the other girls at school.
