Whembley Sewell

This fall, amidst a determining time in our world’s history, Polo Ralph Lauren is presenting a campaign centering around moving stories about the power of love, hope, and togetherness. As a part of the campaign, we are honored to share how we’ve been shaped by this moment in time, as well as our hopes for what is to come. When we began falling in love, it was hard not to imagine — more or less — what our future could look like.

Check out the rest of the Our Queer Decade series here. For the queer community, the 2010s were, well, a decade — a deeply transformative one that saw inspiring, history-making milestones and infuriating setbacks by turns.

When Janelle Monáe came out as queer in a Rolling Stone cover story last April, the revelation made headlines around the world. As one of the most prolific multi-hyphenate artists of a generation, her declaration carried immense weight, both for herself and for queer black women and LGBTQ+ people everywhere.