I’m going to Chicago’s pride parade for the fifth time tomorrow and it seems like a great time to officially come out. It’s definitely past due. So, since I’m tired of hiding who I am, here’s your official notice that I am definitely not straight! I’ve known this for a few years now and I’m in a long-term relationship with a woman who I love, but I’ve been very private about my queerness and relationship, largely due to some serious self-shame and a worry that if I came out publicly I would disappoint certain people. I’ve been hiding who I am for way too long though and it has caused a huge amount of stress and anxiety for me. It’s taken a long time for me to get here, but I’m hoping this will lift a humongous weight off my chest. Pride has
“I guess we need to come up with an excuse when we are asked the reason for the annulment.”
I also don't own the idea, it was requested to me by the wonderful Amanda. Thank you so much! I hope I did this idea justice.
It is often found that the stereotypical “butch” and “femme” pairing are more visible than other lesbian relationships. However, this does not mean that they do not exist. The ever-growing popularity of the lesbian social sphere has symbolized both difficulties and effects of identifying with such a label. The label or identity itself, though distinctly separating lesbians from “normal” heterosexuals begins to exhibit pre-existing conflict experienced by gay males: “there’s always been something wrong (Aldrich, 38).” This quote implies the conditioned and ingrained belief that homosexuality’s “taboo” existence was more than just wrong, but distasteful and something that society should look down upon for being an “abnormality.” Sometimes, this social reality for lesbians made it hard for them to “come out the closet” and be visible. This experience is exemplified as “The repressed lesbian has a harder time of it, for she is less aware of her abnormality (Aldrich, 41).” Additionally, to be able to clearly and accurately identify “the lesbian is to meet the many women she is at close range; to see her against her various backgrounds, hear her sundry voices, and familiarize yourself with the diverse facades of her several lives (Aldrich, 42).” Here, the presence of the “double life” is demonstrated to further analyze the lack of privileges that the lesbian community had, including the social aspect of their
At the same time: Snap-Whoosh-Growl-Snap-Whoosh-Growl! Return with a fierceness, causing the rest of the men to separate into two groups with some moving to the left in search of the origin of the beastly sounds and the others moving to the right, combining their numbers with those searching for their missing brethren, while Gottlieb stays behind.
at 2802 L ST SE in the City of Auburn, King Co, WA. Dispatch advised the
An epidemic of water born diseases in Chicago was rampant in the early 1880s. In order to stop the spread the diseases, Chicago exercised their right to reverse the flow of the once stagnant river, thus saving the lives of Chicago residents.
Andrew Sullivan, author of, What is a Homosexual, portrays his experience growing up; trapped in his own identity. He paints a detailed portrait of the hardships caused by being homosexual. He explains the struggle of self-concealment, and how doing so is vital for social acceptation. The ability to hide one’s true feelings make it easier to be “invisible” as Sullivan puts it. “The experience of growing up profoundly different in emotional and psychological makeup inevitably alters a person’s self-perception.”(Sullivan)This statement marks one of the many reasons for this concealment. The main idea of this passage is to reflect on those hardships, and too understand true self-conscious difference. Being different can cause identity problems, especially in adolescents.
Every morning on my way to school I often pick up the Red Eye newspaper and read the latest news happening in Chicago. As I skim the pages I often see a section that shows the homicide tracker in the city of Chicago. This section of the newspaper shows numerous of deaths occurred in a month in a specific area. Consequently, similar to this homicide tracker on the newspaper the following articles have about the same homicide stories that have occurred in the city of Chicago years ago. In the book The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson illustrates the dreadful events about crime, violence, and illness all leading to death; The Coldest Case: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre by Jonathan Eig describes a tragic murder of six men by the mob making Chicago seen as a gangland murder capital; The Untouchables by Eliot Ness tells the conflict Eliot Ness experienced trying to put the gangster Al Capone out of business, and For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago by Simon Baatz retells the case of judge Clarence Darrow which was to defend two boys of receiving the death penalty. The combination of these three stories shows serious issues such as crime, corruption and violence that are plaguing Chicago.
With the “Orange Is the New Black” star, Laverne Cox being transgender and permitted to play a vivid character as “Sophia”, Caitlyn Jenner’s announcement on the Diane Sawyer interview in 2015, and the arsenal of social media, being non-cisgender (not the gender assigned at birth) in general, has been discussed more than ever. Due to the Internet’s broadness, people who met this classification are unraveling new identities such as non-binary and genderqueer (only people who are this can say this word as “queer” is a slur). Being cisgender is the norm in society. I am also non-cisgender and this is an unique thing that possessed many scars.
For this assignment, I chose to view the live performance of, Disgraced and the filmed production of, Chicago. Disgraced, was about a man in New York of Pakistan descent who had disowned his religion of Islam. He seemed to be living the American Dream, a married working lawyer living in New York. However, his past Islamic beliefs catch up with him, turning his life to a downwards spiral. He ends up losing everything he worked so hard to achieve. Chicago follows the life of a young girl who has moved to Chicago in search of fame. She is promised fame from her lover, but once she found out he was lying she kills him. She’s sentenced to death, and when she arrives to jail she finds a lawyer who helps exonerate her. After viewing Disgraced and
As my family piled into our car for our four-hour drive, I sincerely hoped my brothers wouldn’t ruin the best chance that we’ve had in a long time. They were already arguing about who got what video game, and were not making my mom and dad feel any better about going. We were going to Illinois, to Chicago, to be even more specific. Chicago was the city I’d been dreaming about visiting for a long time. (Well, that and New York.) I could not believe that my parents were getting out of their comfort zone and taking us to a big city.
Coming out, regardless of what one is coming out as, is incredibly difficult. An important aspect of accepting ones’ sexuality is the support that one gets from others of the same sexuality. “This support comes not only from loved ones … but also from associating with like-minded others in the gay, lesbians, and bisexual communities” (McLean 63). However, even in a group that’s been discriminated against by heterosexuals, there is an outstanding amount biphobia in the LGBT community. Bisexuals, while technically are included in the LGBT community, often have difficulty fitting in with the rest of the community.
In the United States there are many highly populated, big cities that exist. They not only serve as purpose for business and industry, but also serve as homes for many people. Chicago, the third highest populated city in the United States, can be defined in several different ways. Carl Sandburg a fan and native of Chicago describes the city. Sandburg describes the city in different ways with his poems “Chicago” and “Skyscraper.” Both poems portray the city as lively and dominant, but the poem "Skyscraper" acknowledges drawbacks of the city.
The act of "coming out" is a complex political tool. Its use is open to ambiguous possibilities, ranging from subverting social order to reinforcing those power structures. Of course, it is undoubtedly an empowering act for many non-heterosexual persons to identify themselves as such. Even if the categories of "heterosexual" and "homosexual" are entirely socially constructed (as Michel Foucault argues), that does not mean that they are not real categories of thought that shape the way we live our lives. Indeed, my computer is entirely constructed, but is still undeniably real. Since many non-heterosexual people do live their lives identifying differently from heterosexual people, they may find "homosexual" (or a similar label) an accurate description of their identities and daily lives, however socially contingent that description is. That said, I do not wish to make a judgement call on whether or not someone should or should not come out. Rather, I wish to examine the complicated space represented by "the closet" and the multifarious effects that "coming out" has on the larger social structure.
One more thing. Why should I already know? I'm not even an adult. I shouldn't be forced to decide such things. They can change your life. Feeling forced to do something is just awful. I'm just sitting here thinking about my feelings and I don't even know what I should do. All these scenarios pop up in my head and they are all catastrophes. There's only one thing I know for sure considering the LGBT community. I support them. But am I part of it? I honestly don't know and that makes me think I am. Like how can you not know if you're straight or not. And saying straight sounds like everything else is just wrong. All this talking about one's