Friday, May 6, 2011

A Gleeful Friday

God I miss Ann Richards...
This post comes from a lot of places for me. Geographically, it comes from the general vicinity of Houston, Texas. Sad to say I'm a bit disappointed in my state for this week which brought us such gems as the cheerleader now stuck with legal fees for having the nerve to sue the school that kicked her from the squad because she wouldn't cheer for her rapist, and the Houston Fox affiliate presenting a "discussion" about the latest Glee episode with such a decidedly anti-gay bias that GLAAD is demanding an apology. Oh, and let's not forget this lovely piece of intolerance, also in the Houston area.

The comments to stories like these inevitably include at least one "Why doesn't Texas secede already? Good riddance!" But y'all, there are tolerant people here too, and some of us thought that Glee episode (which also dealt with a character finally acknowledging a serious mental illness) was awesome. Glib, sure, and too tidy. Because it's TV, and TV is like that. But the theme for the week, and for the show in general, was still valid. Own your givens, the things you didn't ask for but were just handed in life. If you try to conceal them, whether from yourself or others, at some point they will come to own you; acknowledge them, and you can deal openly with them.
Not new information, but still awesome to see

The closing scene, a rousing rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", also features each Glee member wearing a self-made t-shirt with their unasked-for given/flaw/worst feature/challenge/etc. written on it. Kurt's says, in big bold letters, LIKES BOYS. Emma's, at long last, says OCD (the best t-shirts are Brittney and Santana's, but I digress).

In the real world, and as grownups, we would probably all need more than one shirt to do that sort of labeling job. But I know mine right now would be a toss-up between KINKY, READS AND WRITES TRASHY ROMANCE NOVELS, and CLINICAL DEPRESSION, I HAZ IT :-( . Okay, also SHORT but that's pretty much self-evident if you've ever met me. Only one of those is within my power to stop, in my opinion, and it's not "kinky". Which brings me to my question(s):

This is funny but not always true, by the way
Do you think kink is born or made? If you're into it, were your earliest sexual fantasies bound up in kink or D/s in some way (mine were)? Me, I think it's the wiring. Sometimes it can be changed, but for the most part you get what you get, and I wonder if there aren't a lot of unhappy folks out there who'll never quite know what the problem is, because they'll never admit to themselves that their shirt should read KINKY. Or because they never even realize that's an option available to them.

Okay, and also - what's on your shirt?

And while you're thinking about all that, watch this: Isn't Chris Colfer the most adorable thing ever?

4 comments:

  1. Great post, Del. I'm with you that kink is in the wiring. Yes, my earliest adolescent fantasies were definitely kinky. Unfortunately I didn't know enough to know it was an option for many years. I'm a big believer in wiring, although I don't think it's a question of one set of wires. Sometimes they combine and overlap in interesting ways. And having said that, I do believe sexuality and kinks can expand over time. My tee shirt could read Kinky, but it could also read Impatient Controlling Bitch, or sometimes Burdened with Existential Angst. Loved the Glee clip btw.

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  2. Right there with you, babe,on the whole Texas situation. Not much different "up north" of you in Fort Worth...

    As to the T-shirt...I'd have to think about that...probably Quick to Judge or stealing from the BBC - "She Who Must Be Obeyed." Oh, and I'm a HUGE Gleek. The Diva Daughter and I have a Tuesday night date to watch it every week. LOL

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  3. I think all INTJs (I'm just guessing there...but if I'm not on the mark, I'm at least close, right?) wear each of those t-shirts from time to time. I think there's definitely some sort of inborn propensity, but whether/how it develops is a question of experience.

    I remember the first time I read Gone With the Wind (at age 9, which says something right there I'm sure) and then again when I saw the movie, the scene that stuck with me was the one that ends w/Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett up the stairs. It just took me about another 25 years to figure out exactly why that scene affected me the way it did. And still does. But I can look back and know that at nine, I was definitely too young and naive to be making any kind of conscious decision about my sexuality; I didn't even realize it WAS a "sexual" reaction until much, much later.

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  4. At least the jerk teacher was fired, I read today. Although the fact that he even thought it was an option to say something like that to a student continues to baffle me.

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