Pride Month
Melancholia In Time Of Dancing & Bears
People shouldn't be open about their sexuality. Cis folk don't worry about it, and LGBTQ+ folk shouldn't worry as well. By not being heterosexual, we have the added stress that we need to reveal our sexual preference(s). At 48 years old, I am still not open about my sexuality. Family and some friends still think that I'm waiting for a woman to make an honest man out of me.
By Will Coronel5 years ago in Pride
High Notes In The Shower
I swear I use to battle with myself on what I was suppose to like growing up. I somehow found women so attractive and it killed me to think I was weird or nasty. I remembered how I crushed so hard on a girl when I was in the 8th grade. I couldn't really shake the feeling of liking a girl. Maybe I was born that way. I would come home from school and hop straight in the shower. I would have my speaker on the opposite side of the curtain and I would sing to the top of my lungs. I never really knew if I sounded good or not; nobody ever complained. My song playlist would go on for ever and all my greatest hits would play. I would sing and think about my crush. I swear my music helped me understand my new found attraction to other girls like me. Then as I got older I heard Lady Gaga's "Born this Way".. I just knew she made that song for me.
By Dominique Gray5 years ago in Pride
She-Ra and the Princesses of Queer
My whole life I have been so sure of one thing: I am straight. So much so that I knew that if I were a guy I would be gay. There’s not a lot in this world that you can be so sure of, but I knew that the one thing that I could always count on was my identity and sexuality. For sure, an accolade for being two of the biggest contributing factors to my two-dimensional world goes to both the very traditional life I have been brought up in and the unaccepting representation of the queer community in films, tv shows and books that I divulged in when I was growing up. I had always felt that when the world was coming to accept the LGBTQIA+ community the media wanted to be a part of that world but in so many cases the writing of queer characters were so clumsily done it reeked of ‘we need to fit some form of queer into this so that we aren’t seen as prejudice’. In almost every teen drama there was a background gay couple – commonly the comedic duo – and their clumsily written presence and overly advertised queer appearance made way for so much on-screen sexual chemistry that there left no room for genuine character development and in turn love for the characters, their journeys and their representation. It was also frequently an unrealistic portrayal for the vast majority of the community they tried to represent, especially when they conformed to the well-rehearsed stereotypes.
By Megan Kingsbury5 years ago in Pride
Synesthesia
Romance has always been my favorite genre. As far back as I can remember, I’ve lived for the sappy clichés: flowers, chocolates, tearful confessions in the pouring rain, all of it. In elementary school, I would spend hours choosing baby names for my future adopted children (I always insisted they would be adopted. The idea of anything else made me uncomfortable) and scouring the Internet for dresses, rings, and décor. As much as I prepared names and future houses to share with my spouse, I always stopped short when I reached the idea of a husband.
By Lia Mercado5 years ago in Pride
NippyFan
Back in the day, I’d party in NYC. I wasn’t gay, per se, or aware of my potential to “play for the same team.” But I most certainly partied my ass off in gay clubs. I’d even recruit friends to come with me, who had zero “tendencies” and just couldn’t understand for a second, how I did. I recently told one of my friends, “I can say what I prefer because I’ve tried both. So you might be, but don’t know it, because you haven’t tried it”. She’s been one of my besties since High School and I can honestly say, her picture should be featured under the definition of “hetereosexuality”. She’s not judgmental or funny style about it, just not about it. But, she would sometimes grace me with her partying presence and when the last song at the blackest, gayest lesbian club in New York City would drop, she’d hit that dance floor hard. A lot of my friends would just come with me because “damn, it’s fun to just dance my ass off and not worry about some guy humping on me.” My friend screamed this in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by women who surely would’ve taken her home that night, but respected her space and fun. So we all just danced. That last song that made wallflowers slide to the dance floor and bloom, was “I was born this way” by Carl Bean. Carl Bean is now an ArchBishop. And that’s levels. This is a remake, but this is the version that brought down the house every club night. Nanny’s is long gone, but I still have that anthem song in my vinyl collection.
By Dayna Clark5 years ago in Pride
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Sydney (Australia) Mardi Gras by Mike Friganiotis Normally held each year, the Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras is a cacophony of costume, colour and courage. But it didn’t happen in 2020, when COVID-19 put a stop to all public celebrations. My home town knows how to party, and fortunately for everyone, Australia’s strong approach to dealing with COVID-19 has meant that in 2021 things were back to normal…well, nearly!
By Michael Friganiotis5 years ago in Pride
