Friday, June 21, 2019

Stories of Pride: I Didn't Say It ...

Pete Buttigieg, Democratic candidate for president, saying that being gay is just one part of who he is:

“I am proud of who I am. I’m certainly very proud of my marriage and my husband. We don’t shy away from that. It’s also not the only thing that defines me. I’m here to be a president for everyone. Talking about my experience is an important part of that. But it’s especially important because it can help me relate to people who have a different experience than what I went through. All these things fit together.I think some people have an image of what a gay person or an LGBTQ activist is supposed to look like. And I think if you’ve met one gay person, you’ve met one gay person. We have different styles and different approaches. But what I try to do is just be who I am … I don’t know who else to be.”

My thoughts exactly.
I don’t call myself a ‘gay man’ but a ‘man who is gay,’ because I am more than just my sexual orientation, and when we limit ourselves to one thing, that’s all we’ll ever be.
Anderson Cooper, speaking of his mother, fashion icon Gloria Vanderbilt, who passed away this week:

“The last few weeks, every time I’d kiss her good-bye, I’d say ‘I love you mom.’ She would look at me and say, ‘I love you too. You know that.’ And she was right. I did know that. I knew it from the moment I was born and I’ll know it for the rest of my life. And in the end, what greater gift can a mother give to her son? Gloria Vanderbilt was an extraordinary woman who loved life and lived it on her own terms. She spent a lot of time alone in her head during her life, but when the end came she was not alone. She was surrounded by beauty and by family and by friends….What an extraordinary life. What an extraordinary mom. What an incredible woman.”

“I’ll know it for the rest of my life.”
What a gift from mother to son, and back again.
Ricky Martin, in a letter to Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló, asking him to axe an anti-LGBTQ “religious freedom” bill:

“As a member of the LGBTT  [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transsexual] community, I join the constituency that affirms that there has never been a willingness among our LGBTT people to allow for the validation or legalization of discrimination against us. House Bill 2069, filed at the request of Governor Ricardo Rosselló and promoted by Representative Charbonier, achieve nothing more than opening the doors to hatred towards anyone who doesn’t share the same ideology, who simply belong to the LGBTT community, or who don’t  have the same color skin, amidst many other discriminatory measures. Authentic religious freedom calls for respecting everyone equally. As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, which degrades us as a society and projects us to the world as a backwards country, unwilling to honor the basic constitutional right of individuality. This movement is not representative of the Puerto Rico that we all love, defend and hold so dear. We call on the Senate, the House and Governor Ricardo Rosselló to reject this effort, which is an open door to hatred and discrimination.”

And a letter works. After receiving Martin’s letter Governor Rosselló asked lawmakers to shelve the bill.
There is power in our voices.
The march goes on …
Halsey, performing in a t-shirt paying tribute to Melania and Chris, the lesbian couple attacked on a London bus last week, blasting the so-called ‘Straight Pride’ movement:

“The sad reality is, after the Pride parades are over and after the bars close their Pride nights, when the glitter is being swept out of the streets, a lot of people get on those trains and they get on those buses and they try to wash the rainbows off their bodies. They peel the stickers off their clothes, because when Pride is over, it’s not safe to be gay anymore, because they are worried that someone is going to viciously assault them or viciously attack them. So, when the people around the world ask the question, ‘Why isn’t there a ‘Straight Pride’ parade?’ The answer because if there was one, you wouldn’t have to get on the bus and be terrified of getting f**king beaten or killed afterwards. That’s why there’s not a ‘Straight Pride’ parade. Because every f**king day on public transport is a ‘Straight Pride’ parade.”

Truth.
Tyler Blackburn, Pretty Little Liars and Roswell, New Mexico actor, who came out as bisexual earlier this year, revealing he’s dating “an amazing guy” in an interview with Playboy:

“As I got older, I realized good sex is when you really have something between the two of you. It’s not just a body. The more I’ve realized that, the more able I am to be settled in my sexuality. I’m freer in my sexuality now. I’m very sexual; it’s a beautiful aspect of life. Once I decided to date men, I was like, Please just let me be gay and be okay with that, because it would be a lot fucking easier. At times, bisexuality feels like a big gray zone. I’ve had to check myself and say, I know how I felt when I was in love with women and when I slept with women. That was true and real. Don’t discredit that, because you’re feeding into what other people think about bisexuality.”

Sometimes we—and I’m also guilty of this—joke and downplay people who identify as bisexual. But if we cannot accept our own, how  can we ask anyone to accept them, or us, either.
Judith Light, receiving the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the Tony Awards earlier this month:

“The HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ communities are inspirations and demonstrations of how to be and live in the world; courageous, honorable, and uplifting. They inspire me and it is my privilege to be of service to them. I am humbled by this recognition from my theater family, whom I so respect, honor, and love.”

We can do all we want for ourselves; speak up, act up. But it helps to have an ally like Judith Light who has stood with us, marched with us, spoken with us, and for us, for decades.

15 comments:

  1. Straight white males do not need any assistance from the rest of us to celebrate the major control they hold over the rest of us. They celebrate it every day; there is no need for the underdogs to proclaim how wonderful they are. Out with all this straight pride shit! Let's celebrate the diversity of all of us living on planet earth and resolve to be kinder to one another.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That reaction by Puerto Rican governor to Ricky Martin's letter is nothing short of sensational. Just goes to show it's always worth a try. Now if only Pres. Putrid would show the same level of understanding in response to Elton J.'s several approaches to him personally on the situation in Russia.........But he won't, of course. Can't afford to lose the bigoted support of the Russ. Orth. Church, meaning he'd be finished, and of course that would be intolerable - to him!

    ReplyDelete
  3. xoxoxox Mayor.Pete xoxoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pete Pete Pete Pete Pete!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hurray for everyone in this post!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This post is very gay. I don’t know if it’s a gay post or a post that happens to be gay, but I like it very much.
    I understand Pete’s point and I think it’s great. He’s educating some very stupid MoFos. And I think he’s a very smart man and a good politician who happens to be gay, but he IS gay. And that’s part of his appeal.

    XoXo

    ReplyDelete
  7. This may be surprising, but I don't think of myself as gay... I'm just a guy who likes to work with words, who goes to movies with friend, and who is ruled by his dogs.At some point in our futures identifying you sexual orientation will no longer be necessary because no one will care.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I second helen. pppppeeeeettttteeeee!

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Helen
    When straight white men can PROVE they have been discriminated against all their lives just for being straight and white and male, I'll go to their parade. Until then, take a seat because they have nothing to say.

    @Raybeard
    I've always said "Speak up" and you can get things done. Ricky did that, and it was amazing.

    @TDM and MM
    Pete certainly is a thoughtful candidate, and I really like that about him.

    @Debra
    I was happy to find people saying nice,positive, inspiring things this week.

    @Sixpence
    Glad you like it, as a gay post, or a post that's gay.

    @Dave
    Don't get me wrong, I identify as gay, but I also identify as white and tall and blue eyed and married and gray-haired [well, that last one, maybe not so much] but it's that I am many things and don't want to be just one.

    @AM
    Indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Just want to thank you again, Bob! For being here and being you! Jerry and I regularly explain to our straight friends that for us simply holding hands or sharing a peck on the cheek in public was a political statement. We always risked personal safety.. and still do.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Mitchell
    That's so true.
    Every thing we do, even grocery shopping as a couple,is a coming out, and could lead to nasty reactions.Luckily, times are changing and more people are understanding.

    ReplyDelete
  12. These were all great posts. Right now Halsey is my girl, I never blogged about her because I figured all the old timers would say "who"? I wasn't even aware that she was bisexual until he chastised the Victoria Secret fashion show for saying they will never use trans models because "they are not part of the fantasy". This post makes me respect her even more because it's totally true.
    As for Pete's comments, that was my big issue when I first started coming out, it was important for me that people saw me as Steven, a man who has many different characteristics about him one of which is that I'm gay.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great collection of a great group of people.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Let us hope these Warriors win over Ignorance

    ReplyDelete
  15. @Ur-spo
    That's the hope, right? Let's do this.

    ReplyDelete

Say anything, but keep it civil .......