Another day, another lovely coming out moment. Another state’s highest courts overturns the ban on same-sex marriage. It’s an exciting time to be gaymo, let me tell you. If you didn’t read it late last week, I highly recommend you give a read to “Orange Is the New Black” writer Lauren Morelli’s coming out essay.
This is probably the most personal thing I will ever write, so the internet seemed like a good place for it. http://t.co/ASA31AWgVp
— Lauren Morelli (@lomorelli) May 21, 2014Playfully titled, “While Writing for 'Orange Is the New Black,' I Realized I Am Gay,” it’s touching and telling in many ways. But I think the part that resonates the most was how Lauren spoke about feeling like an outsider among her own community.
Lauren spoke about how, “uncomfortable I felt around groups of lesbians.” And it’s the same feeling Ellen Page spoke of after coming out, saying, “I felt awkward around gay people; I felt guilty for not being myself.”
The days when the closet was the standard are dwindling. Not that people need to come out before they are ready. But the numbers who have come out and the example they set makes it easier for each other person. Which is really wonderful. And the welcoming community waiting for people when they embrace who they are is even more wonderful.
To quote Lauren again:
“Now, when I am in the writers' room or on set, I no longer feel like I am stuck in the middle of two truths. I belong because my own narrative fits in alongside the fictional stories that we are telling on the show: stories of people finding themselves, of difficult paths and of redemption.”Indeed, it’s an exciting time for us gaymos. Come on and join the fun.
Thank you for sharing this - I'm not a big TV watcher and haven't watched Orange is the New Black (I get most of my gay-relevant media news from your blog, in fact!) but I loved Lauren Morelli’s essay. I didn't figure out I was gay until I was 30, and it's so ridiculously confusing to realize it later in life, which she so well puts into words. Almost seven years later and I'm still putting aside a lot of the constraints and fears built up over those first 30 years.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, it's great to be part of the club, but be kind and gentle to us late-comers. It's just all so bewilderingly fantastic.
It's also bewilderingly fantastic how wonderful it feels to be a more equal citizen in the great state of Pennsylvania!
Cheers, and thanks always for your blog, Dorothy.
I feel so sorry for her ex-husband. This article may seem delightful to some, but I feel it is cruel to him. (I'm a Kinsey 6 dyke, by the way.)
ReplyDelete