It’s Women’s History Month and for this installment we’re celebrating all the ones who’ve been there since Day 1 for gaypeople. And we look at how we can start to thank them by showing up for them in return!
![Illustration of man under eyes and hands and Women have always been key in my gay survival as I navigated a homophobic world](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1754fad/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb1%2F91%2F62208c914ec9866499a44ac142a9%2Fdelos9-panel1.jpg)
![Man under symbol and Whether it be family, friends or pop icons, I've always been surrounded and protected by feminine energy](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8d94779/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2F75%2Febabe9714e3c99d5058f7f8f9b7e%2Fdelos9-panel2-edited.jpg)
![Woman, boy and The first woman being my mother who made sure my self-esteem wasn't lacking because I was a little different.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba838f4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Feb%2F67%2F7202cb1d463e8093ae2003902b92%2Fdelos9-panel3-edited.jpg)
![Kids with Barbies and Like many gay boys before me, Barbies were one of the first tools I used to express my feminine side.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/42cf49d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F35%2Fed%2F41b49d4b413eb8ed1c3d85f095af%2Fdelos9-panel4.jpg)
![Boy and band posters, Then the Spice Girls, Shakira and No Doubt came around to be the soundtrack of a very confused puberty](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0111ab8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F51%2F83%2F27820522413ab3233411c0080ab0%2Fdelos9-panel5-edited.jpg)
![Two girls and a guy, While I was figuring out my sexuality in high school, brown girls would put a stop to any homophobia.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b1de773/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcd%2Fa2%2Fbceadc2542088a12070592bb8558%2Fdelos9-panel6.jpg)
![Two men and a woman, When I was in college I had to reexamine the way other gay men and I were participating in misogyny.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/11e96e7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F03%2Ff8%2F35380fbe434cba0f6c13b5ea8c8f%2Fdelos9-panel7.jpg)
![Two men and a woman, While homophobia has done a number on our psyche, it's no excuse to turn our backs on women who had ours](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a7d346d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8a%2Fca%2Fc7a76a934fca85e1cde9b400cde3%2Fdelos9-panel8.jpg)
![Protest signs. Having women's backs means being there for your girls when their rights are under attack.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45085fa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F87%2F06%2F781577b849878676e4cde95974a6%2Fdelos9-panel9.jpg)
![I cannot imagine where I'd be now if it weren't for all the girlies who came through when I needed them the most.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/90dcd5d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3600x3600+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F1c%2F2de4f2844dcfbd06b2a68ae0d454%2Fdelos9-panel10.jpg)
Julio Salgado (@juliosalgado83) is a digital illustrator based in Long Beach.