Letters

From Our Readers: December 2007

“Frankly, I am sad that queers have lost a sense of self.”

QUEER CALL

LifeLessons
Lawrence Ferber's "Life Lessons."

Who, if not American gay men and lesbians, should celebrate our freedom more? Instead it seems we stifle ourselves with labels. Masc., femme, top, bottom, tv, ts, bi, and probably the most destructive to our collective psyche, straight-acting. What does a straight person act like? I know plenty, and they all act differently. So why shouldn’t we?

Halloween night, my best friend and I went to a popular bar that had a “Pimps and Hoes” theme. Of course, we went as hoes. I am not a drag queen or a cross-dresser or a tv (feel free to insert any label you wish), and I make a very ugly woman. I am, however, a gay man, and drag at Halloween is perfectly acceptable. Or so I thought. I guess I didn’t get the memo telling us that Halloween wasn’t supposed to be fun anymore. Apparently, we are all to wear some sort of sports uniform or military uniform or dress as a Spartan or wear no costume at all, but most importantly we are to stare at any one that doesn’t conform to the new queerness.

Frankly, I am sad. I am sad that queers have lost a sense of self. I am sad that queers have lost a sense of community. I am sad queers have lost a sense of humor. Most of all I am sad that queers have embraced this bizarre notion of “straight-acting.”

Being queer isn’t a curse, but hating yourself for it is.

Shannon Jacobs
Houston

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Montrose Counseling Center will honor OutSmart photographer Dalton DeHart at its 30th anniversary kick-off event “Past, Present, and Future: A Special Evening of Celebration.” For details, see News Briefs.

Lawrence Ferber, who frequently writes about entertainment for OutSmart, has made his comic- book debut. He is the writer, and Robert Kirby is the illustrator, for “Life Lessons #24,” a two-page contribution to the new queer comics anthology Juicy Mothers 2: How They Met (Manic D Press), edited by Jennifer Camper. Read more at Ferber’s new blog, Ewelthorpe, at http://ewelthorpe.blogspot.com. (See illustration at right.)

OutSmart contributor Brad Williams was recently accepted to the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Williams has settled in that GLBT-friendly town and has launched a blog, Email from the Ozarks, http://emailfromtheozarks.blogspot.com.

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