This column,
written by Michael Levine, expresses a long-held opinion of
mine. Up until now, however, I had repressed it for fear of
seeming uptight or anti-gay or certainly politically
incorrect. But Michael, as a straight male, expresses
it perfectly. And I, as a transgender gay male, agree.
I personally
believe that mankind is composed of brothers (all genders
included) sharing the same planet. We're not doing a helluva
good job of caring for each other (or the planet, for
that matter) these days, and it would behoove every
single one of us to make an effort to extend a hand to
every other. And, by doing so, we get to know each other and
acceptance becomes easier. If nothing else (and there has
been plenty "else") the legality of gay marriage in
Massachusetts has helped folks to see the "normality"
of gay couples and families. Y
ou have probably
noticed that I am trying to circumvent a definition of
"normality" because I don't know what it is anyway. In my
book, pretty much everything that doesn't hurt people
or animals is probably "ok." But that's another
subject.
OK, so I'm not a
twink or a teeny-bopper. But I have been rather
non-plussed and annoyed at the way folks are letting their
various private body parts hang out in public
recently. The young girls have their pants way below
the belly button and boobs are just barely contained
by a shirt. The boys don't get off the hook either, with
their shorts down around their ankles. Ok, so these
are teenagers and teenagers have to find some way to
be "different." But most pride participants are not
teenagers, and I truly believe it would be much more
helpful in the acceptance category if we could tone it all
down a bit. There's nothing wrong at showing off a bit
of leather and drag, but must it be so extreme in such
a public place? One can be proud of who one is without
all the additional glitz that I believe just becomes fodder
for the feedbag of anti-gay horses' asses. Is that
really necessary? Do we want to "fight back" and "show
them a thing or two?" Or do we want to reach out a
hand and invite them in? And that's about the long and
the short of it for me.