Representation matters
Hello my lovelies. Did y’all enjoy the recent Icepocalypse? We, as Texans, can be so dramatic about a little bit of ice or snow, but that shit is dangerous! Most folks can barely drive in good conditions, so I stay the fuck away from the streets if there is even a chance of them being slick.
As a drag queen, if we don’t work, then we don’t make money. I remember, years ago, driving in the worst, most dangerous conditions to get to a show. Fuck safety! I got a show to do! Plus I get the worst FOMO if I don’t make it to a show. What if it’s packed? What if everyone makes thousands of dollars in tips? What if Henry Cavill comes to the show, and I’m not there?
Aaaahhhh!
Well, that was the old me. Now I am one of the lucky few that can take a night off and be okay. I mean, I still get FOMO all of the time, and if someone said there was a chance my Superman was gonna be there that night — well, my gay ass would put on a parka and hike to the club if I had to.
But mostly I am okay, if not thrilled, to stay home.
Last week during the bad weather, I went to the grocery store and stocked up and had no plans of coming out of my warm and cozy home until all of the ice was gone. And I didn’t. And I fucking loved it.
My husband works for the post office, and, since the trucks couldn’t get through, he had the days off, too. We napped, watched a bunch of random shit on TV, cooked and ate then did it again the next day.
The only downside was our prissy dogs. They were not having it. They walked outside to potty and immediately turned their spoiled asses around and came back inside. We literally had to force them to go outside by carrying them out and putting them down in the yard where they would give a big ol’ nope and run/slide back to the warmth of the living room.
Thank God for Ruggables.
By Thursday we were having a little cabin fever, so we went to the movies and saw Knock at The Cabin. It was a good movie based on a book by Paul Tremblay called The Cabin at The End of The World. The story is about a gay couple with a daughter on vacation in a cabin, way out in the woods. Four people show up with scary, homemade weapons and tell them they have to choose to sacrifice one of the three in their family or the world will end.
The movie stuck to the book very closely until the last couple of chapters. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, so that is all I will say about it.
What I will say is how nice it is to see so much gay representation in movies and on TV lately. I also love how crazy it is driving the right-wing nutjobs. Squirm bitches! Squirm!
This was our gay agenda all along: to be seen and normalized in books and film! Ahhh-haa-ha-ha!
It’s so cool to see gay stories told in such big formats without us being the butt of the joke for straight audiences. The third episode of The Last of Us is exactly the kind of story I want to see more of. If you haven’t watched the show, it is so much more than your run-of-the mill zombie survival drama. That episode was beautifully written and perfectly cast, and the acting was award-worthy. It had me in my feelings and I felt proud of it, like I had worked on it.
There is the most wonderful scene where the two lead characters, Frank and Bill, eat fresh strawberries for the first time in years, and this childlike giggle that Frank gave completely warmed my heart. You could watch that one episode by itself and enjoy it as its own thing, but it is a really great show. So check it out if you haven’t yet.
Another incredibly-well-acted gay character was done by Brendan Fraser in The Whale. It is hard to watch at times but so worth it. I have not cried that hard in a movie since I don’t know when. Like ugly crying.
Sure, Brenden Fraser is a straight actor playing a gay character, but that does not bother me at all. It is acting. I would love to see more gay actors on TV and film, but I don’t care if they play straight or gay. I know some people are gonna be pissed about me saying that, but that is how I feel. I hope they give gay actors the same opportunities that everyone else has.
Truthfully, no matter what I say, some will always disagree. My point is, I love seeing gay stories and gay characters in mainstream media. It makes me feel included in a world with which I have always felt a disconnect.
Strangely enough, the latest book I am reading has a gay couple as the main story. The book is Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. I only got it because I really loved his last book, Hex. I honestly had no idea what it was about. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the main characters were gay.
So far, I am only about a quarter of the way through, but their being gay was never an issue or even brought up as a surprise. They were introduced as a couple, and I don’t think they have even said the word “gay” or “homosexual” so far.
Not gonna lie; the book is weird so far: One of the guys is possessed by a mountain or the spirit of the mountain or something like that. I’m confused but still intrigued. I am waiting for them to have sex, and I want details, but that is just the pervy horndog in me.
I sit here trying to imagine how different my mindset would have been if I could have watched those movies and TV shows or read this book as a teenager. Representation matters, especially when it comes to the young and impressionable. We need more! You hear me Hollywood? Get on it!
Remember to always love more, bitch less and be fabulous! XOXO, Cassie Nova
