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Four things have led me to this idea:
1) My discussions with Benji about the concept of "passing privilege,"
2) My discussions with a new African American and Gay friend who takes issue with comparisons of the Gay Rights struggle to the Civil Rights Movement.
3) My watching the recent Aimee Mullins Opportunity of Adversity TED Talk video where I didn't know what her disability was for the first few minutes of watching it and how I was struggling with that, my desire to "categorize" her feeling like a betrayal...
and
4) My habitual moment of hesitation when I grab my "Legalize Gay" t-shirt from it's spot in the drawer. A moment when I think about where I'm going and what I'll be doing... and if wearing the shirt is going to be challenging or difficult, or not.
It's all coalesced to make me realize that I'm not even aware of how often I'm 'passing' as straight. 'Passing' as a member of the majority.
If your skin is dark, or if you're a member of a minority where you can't 'pass' as white, your experience of going through our world must be very different than mine. So I decided I want to do something to gain more insight into being a visible minority and be more real and upfront about my being gay.
So here's the challenge I'm going to undertake:
For the month of June, every day I'll wear a T-shirt that explicitly supports gay rights and/or says that I'm gay.
I'll be wearing my blog T-shirts that proclaim: "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?"
I'll be wearing my "Legalize Gay" T-shirt.
I'll be wearing my "It Gets Better" T-shirt.
I'll be wearing my "It's Okay To Be Takei" T-shirt.
I'll be wearing my "Smile If You're Gay" T-shirt.
...and I'll be looking for others to wear, too!
I'm excited to take this challenge, and wanted to share it with you. And please, if anyone wants to join me, I'll be happy to hear about (and share on this blog) your experience, too!
Namaste,
Lee
