esrosedotblog

Malcom Boyd died today.

He was a hero to the gay rights movement.

This only takes a few minutes to see his last thoughts.

A wonderful human being with a lot of wisdom for us all.

Labels: gay heroes, human rights

No one will be surprised to read that Tim Cook is gay.

Tim Cook Just Came Out As Gay

But the thing is that there is a big difference between everyone knowing it as a poorly kept secret and everyone knowing it as an outspoken fact.

This is one of the lesser understood aspects of the process of coming out all the way.

Self declaration across the board and out loud, unembarrassed and unapologetic is what we need.

Most gay people have friends who are supportive by definition. Being out to them is no sweat. More gay people belong to social groups that are tolerant. We are not known for joining right wing homophobic christer outfits. But not all gay people take it much further. To be a public figure and to be assertively open is still a courageous act. But an essential one.

There are still haters of course, but more, there are still many more fencers who will smile and speak their support but not be totally accepting. They are still "tolerating". I had a friend once who hated the idea that he would be "tolerated". Me too once I learned what he meant by that.

Dissolve the definitions. It will take a long time. But the more Tim Cooks we have the more the whole "gay thing" will simmer down into just being a thing.

Labels: apple, gay heroes, gay identity

I am not a particular Dolly Parton fan but I can remember her songs on the jukebox at Sporters, a long gone deeply mourned gay bar.

Frisson. Every time.

"Here you come again."

Holy shit. A gay anthem of regret and happiness all in one simple song.

I find that I am not the only gay boy who liked Dolly. Look at this.

Dollywood, a Little Bit Country and a Little Bit Gay

She is a universal gay icon which makes the whole Dollywood thing even more delicious. All those Southern Baptists haven't a clue. Or maybe they do.

I have always suspected the buttoned up choirboys (I was one) and the well behaved young men of some hidden sins which bend in my direction.

Should I mention that I am married to one of that kind of southern boy. Even though he was not a baptist boy in the practicing sense, his roots in country are as deep as mine.

But mine extend down in hillbilly soil. Appalachia.

And there is Dolly. Overdressed, and over the top with the emotion. She learned from the drag queens, just as we all did whether we liked it or not. They fed us their glorious spinach. Let it all out girl.

It brings tears to my eyes. So much. So much. In just one little song and songbird.

Labels: gay heroes, gay life, music

Today's hero is a guy who was gay "before his time" and did some amazing things over the years.

Jose Sarria Gay Advocate and Performer Dies at 90.

It doesn't take too much to be a hero here. Just live to 90 or more and be admired by me during your life.

Jose Serra was a drag queen and he reigned over the Imperial Court which is a society of drag queens.

He was a perennial performer where he worked, The Black Cat, and he ran for Supervisor of San Francisco. The first gay man to run as a gay man. He got over 5000 votes and Sarria said that after that there was no politician who ran who could ignore the gay vote.

I have not always been comfortable around drag queens. It took me some years to see that they and I are the same. I just am not into wearing a dress. There is no way that I could be a member of the Imperial Court.

But I know that, perhaps because they were the most obvious of "the gays", it was the dragsters that gave us Stonewall and many many other breakthroughs.

They would not pass.

And, neither will I.

Today, I have personal friends who are into the dress up and I find they are a lot of fun and take life in a way that I wish I could more of the time.

Labels: gay heroes, heroes

I just finished Matt Mitchams autobiography Twists and Turns .

Young for an auto-b but he has been at the peak of youthful fame and has a great story to tell.

He is the Olympic gold medal diver who got the gold at Beijing.

He is also gay, not the first diver or Olympian by any means but the first open one. NBC could not imagine that he kissed his partner Lachlan after his win. Shock and dismay. But we could imagine it.

So that makes him a gay liberator as well as a fine athlete.

This is a good book for several reasons. Don't know if he had help but if he did he got the right help. It is riveting.

He, like me, is a man in recovery. We didn't know that when he was front page famous. This sets the record straight. So to speak.

He keeps things tight and to the point. He has a lot of fun in his soul. It comes out in the reading.

I had a good time. With him and the book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in gays or sports or even Australians (as I currently am) because it reads close to what I believe his experience is like.

Labels: books, gay heroes, gay sports