“If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?” - RuPaul - - - - - - - - - - - “if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.” - John F. Kennedy - - - - - - - - - - - - “Imagine finding someone you love more than anything in the world, who you would risk your life for but couldn’t marry. And you couldn’t have that special day the way your friends do – you know, wear the ring on your finger and have it mean the same thing as everybody else. Just put yourself in that person’s shoes. It makes me feel sick to my stomach …. When I shared a picture of my tattoo on my Twitter page and said, ‘ALL LOVE is equal,’ a lot of people mocked me – they said, ‘What happened to you? You used to be a Christian girl!’ And I said, ‘Well, if you were a true Christian, you would have your facts straight. Christianity is about love.’ The debate resulted in a lot of threats and hate mail to people who agreed and disagreed with me. At one point I had to say, ‘Dude, everyone lay off.’ Can’t people have friendly debates about sensitive topics without it turning into unnecessary threats?” - Pop star Miley Cyrus on her marriage equality tattoo - - - - - - - - - - -
Loading

Sunday, March 6, 2011

QAF and What This Show Meant To Me

I was reflecting on a show my partner blogged about on March 1st. It was a television series I watched while I was a teenager, and unlike any I had ever seen - I watched it in hiding to say the least.

Queer As Folk was such a beautiful television series that our closest friends probably would have never seen if not for my partner and I, and that truly is very sad. Though our generation has improved and evolved in regards to gay issues than from the past, we are still very much in dire need of an "in your face" honest and real gay television series. Aside from the L word there has not been anything close to what Queer as Folk has brought to the table for gays everywhere. Dante's Cove? Give me a break.

Sure we get our spots and cameos on other shows and if we're very lucky we may even get a main character role like on Brother's and Sisters or Shameless or almost any reality TV show airing, but it's not Queer as Folk. Maybe that's for the better though. Maybe nothing should ever try and take the place of such a unique thing. It broke boundaries and help paved the way for all these gay characters and gay friendly mentality to open up not only on TV but in our society as well.

I remember buying the entire series from a market in Taiwan, I think, on Ebay. I opened the mail after running upstairs to hide in my room and then later at night I'd watch them all on my laptop, under the sheets, with the volume on low, hiding from my parents while getting a glimpse into gay life that I so wanted to go out and enjoy.

Eventually I did and in almost the exact same way as Justin did when he took his first steps down Liberty Avenue. He also came out to his parents, found his true love in an older man and made many gay and accepting friends and family along the way. All of that I've accomplished too, and though I honestly believe that it would have happened eventually, I have no doubt that watching the cast of QAF get through their fictional lives, ultimately helped me get through and on with my very real one.

It's been so great ever since I came out at 19. My God, almost seven years now and yet it truly feels like an eternity ago. This generation younger than me will never know QAF and it really makes me cry. It's up to us "older" gays to never forget the power and impact that one brilliant show had on all of us years ago. Every new generation will have unlimited tools at their disposal to help them with coming out and growing up gay while being happy and knowledgeable, but as we've all seen there are still suicides and there are still gay bashing's across the country. There are still anti-gay policies in the work place, in our schools, in our homes and in our government too. There is still hate. There is no full equality yet. BUT, there is and always will be hope and change and a new, inspirational youth that will never give up until they get the same rights that everybody else already does. They may not all get to experience Queer as Folk, but they're sure living in a world and community that's already been improved because of it.

I still miss it even today, but I will never forget what those wonderful actors, writers, producers and all the people involved help create to entertain but ultimately help me become the proud gay man that I am today. If any of them are reading this now, however unlikely that may be, please know one thing. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

No comments:

I have organized my blogs with 3 days worth of postings, so if you wish to continue reading the days before that, and so forth and so forth, you can click the "Older Posts" button /\ /\ /\ right /\ up there.

There are 3 other ways you can find interesting topics to read as well.

*Clicking on any of the links under my "Favorite Categories" section on the left hand side of your screen

*Using the Google Search bar under the scrolling text.

*By choosing a date from the drop down list on the right hand side of your screen.


Hope you enjoy my daily posts, and hope to hear from you soon.

- Blade 7184 aka Peter