What Am I?
Why is it that a person's
sexuality, race or gender always comes into play when you are talking about
their work? For instance, if I tell someone that I read this great book
by a man named Arthur Clark and nothing else about the man, they automatically
assume that Mr. Clark is a white straight male. No questions asked. But
if it turns out that they have heard of Mr. Clark and they know he is gay
then there response is a hesitant, " You mean the gay author?" Now the
book can have nothing to do with gays or the gay lifestyle but Mr. Clark
has already been labeled as a gay writer.
The same thing happens with
blacks, women and almost any other minority group. The moment their identity
is found out they are labeled as that so-and-so writer. Now I understand
that a book, or film, or even a song, by a black man often has a unique
slant and the perspective of a gay man is different from that of a heterosexual.
But what I question is; is why can we not let the art stand alone without
having to bring up certain ethnic, gender, or sexual limits?
Some people, knowing that
a movie is written by a gay man will not see it based on that fact, or
they will say, "Well it was good, even if the writer was gay." Like that
has anything to do with the quality of a work of art. Now, I am not one
of these sensitive people that like to get in an uproar about every little
slight to any minority group. In fact I do think that for the most part
people are way too sensitive, but I do think that by changing our standards
on a personal level, we will accomplish a lot more.
Just by altering how we think
or view one thing can change our outlook on many things. I don't want to
start something where there will become a law against qualifying modifiers
but I would like to see more tolerance and acceptance for the way someone
lives or for what their work says then what their separate actions say
about their work.
A gay man who goes to work
everyday and does a great job shouldn't have to be known as "the gay guy".
His homelife has nothing to do with his work, unless he does gay porn.
That would be a different story. On the whole, a person's sexual
preferences rarely affect their professional life. And I think it is time
we acknowledge that, and stop trying to errect barriers just because they
seem different.
I'm sure that you are wondering
about me. Am I straight, gay, black white, a woman, or a bi-black man?
If I defend these people I must be one of them. Well despite what I just
said about letting your work stand-alone I am going to tell you anyway.
I know that I risk alienating some readers if I am not what they believe
I am but I am willing to take that risk. So for the record I am a Chino-Japanese,
African, Cuban, Swiss, Scottish, bull dyke, bi-sexual, try-sexual, transsexual,
cross-dressing hermaphrodite who loves to meet new people of all races,
creeds, colors and genders for great romantic romps in the sack, or moonlight
sonatas with a walk in the park afterwards and a quick handjob behind the
bushes.
I hope that clears up any
confusion that you might have and I hope that you continue to enjoy what
I have to say. Good day, good night and well, whatever. Enjoy yourself;
cause its all good.
The Satyr
PS.- I was talking to a
friend of mine about this phenomenon after I had written this and she just
didn't buy it. She really hadn't seen that happen too much. Later that
day we met a friend and hung out at his place. We flipped on the TV. and
came across an Ellen Degeneres film in which Ellen's character was fawning
over a fire fighter, played by Tom Selleck. Our friend looked at us and
said, "Yeah like he would want her, she's a dyke!" I could only look at
my friend and smile. Damn, its great to be right!
