Celebrating Hump Day
Newsletter + Vintage Photos
As a kid, I really loved the color pink. Something about it made me smile then. Something about it makes me smile now.
But I was a boy, and I was told by one too many people that little boys shouldnāt like pink. Even then, I knew these people were asshats and full of crap. Itās just a color.
Thankfully, neither of my parents were in that group. Mostly.
My dad didnāt like being told what to do and wouldnāt allow others to tell me how to think and what to do. His view was if itās not literally hurting anyone, do your thing.
And if my liking pink bothered them or hurt their sense of whatās right in the world, they deserved to be bothered and hurt. I was lucky to have him on my side.
My mom, though, was a lot moreā¦complicated. As one of the worldās biggest people pleasers and worrywarts, she would have would preferred I didnāt like pinkāor at least not like it (or wear it) publicly. What WOULD the neighbors think?! Clutch them pearls.
So I learned early on to keep certain things about myself...to myself.
From liking the color pink to liking boys who also liked the color pink, as I got older, letās just say I got really good at telling the truth without telling the whole truth. I think most LGBTQ+ folks share a similar story.
Iāve been doodling and noodling about how telling these kinds of half-truths has impacted not just me personally but society at large.
Even after over 25 years of being āoutā and āproud,ā shame in all its forms is a mfer and continues to rear its ugly head and make me want to run for the hills.
As extremists across the political spectrum weaponize our differences (including which Pride flag we like best to who we hang out with and know) and use them to con and grift their way into power, I do my best to keep it all in perspective.
History is a pendulum swing. So many trends have come and gone in my 50+ years that I do my best to remain ignorant of their presenceā¦until after theyāre gone. Easier not to miss them and learn the lessons without wasting all the time and energy.
For the record, even though I have many opinions about the current state of the world, Iām not here to tell you how to think, feel, or live.
What the world doesnāt need is another āexpert,ā āguru,ā or āinfluencerā trying to tell you they have all the answersā¦and you can too for 4 easy installments of $19.99.
Iām just a creative guy who makes and posts art and videos on the internet. Iām just a gay/queer dude whoās old enough to āknow better,ā but doesnāt know any other way to be and/or live. Iām just a man trying to make it all make sense for myself. Human.
Feel free to agree/disagree. But please keep in mind the first rule of Collide Press: Be Kindā¦Or Rewind (Elsewhere). Same rule applies on all platforms. Civility and kindness are basic human rights. And I reserve the right to block, mute, remove those who canāt or wonāt understand that.
learned early on that I was born coloring outside the lines. Sometimes with a pink crayon in hand. Sometimes by seeing other guys I wanted to ācolorā with. I still wish I could just like pink (and men) without feeling like I have to defend or explain myself.
Collide Press has become my online version of living out loud (and proud) and connecting with others who likely have a similar history and perspective.
And where our histories and perspectives differ, I hope we can all agree to remain kind and reasonable. Itās not always easy. Thatās why I keep this Dolly Parton quote handy in case of emergency:
āWhen I meet someone, I look at their eyes and their smile and seek out the good first - it's easy to find when you're looking for it. You let a person shine with their own light and try to connect it to yours. As soon as I say hello, I go right to that light and I don't care who you are! I know we're all pieces of the same thing - I go for that common light because I know it's in all of us.ā
Dolly Parton
Besides being a national treasure, Dolly Parton inspires me personally because she also loves the color pinkā¦and men.
Namaste..GAY!
Clint
P.S. Hopefully that wasnāt too rambling. I started writing about one thing and quickly got pulled into a different direction. Musesā¦can be amusing. Or annoying, depending on your pov. Thanks for reading.
FOUND PHOTOS = HUMPS + RUMPS EDITION
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I have about twenty or so years on you, I imagine. I got a double whammy at birth: I'm surely enough a homo, but I'm also Aspbergian. High functioning autistic. Undiagnosed but truly unmistakable. I never "got" what people were up to, even friendly ones. I've been gradually sorting through the rubble over the years. I've done a lot of pretend hiding over the years too, for all that I was part of the original Gay, Lesbian, etc. group at my southern university in the early 70's and migrated to San Francisco as soon as I could get there. Thing is, I don't think anyone but me was much fooled by all that performance art. Silly rabbit. So, pink? What a fun color to have in your toolkit.
Forgot to mention.... For centuries pink was only for boys/men and blue was strictly feminine. The swap happened a little over a hundred years ago and the only thing I remember about it is that it was one of the first recorded societal changes engineered by modern advertising.