taste a single flavor of the rainbow 🌈

A collage of a few recent enough queer experiences, which all seem to get at something. What could it be?

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Somehow I found myself on the artist’s Instagram page. His work is mostly painted, but part of his practice includes taking selfies and making photographic self-portraits while wearing hyper-masc, athletic outfits. He frequently wears thongs. He often is pressed against another man. They are almost always fit, white: perfect.

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There is a genre of queer — Gay. — media that is focused on the aggressive niceties of the same sex experience. Red, White, and Royal Blue. The Guncle. Heartstopper. These aren’t for me but are instead are Gay Things My Mom Would Like, that I will get a text about, sharing how “cute” it is. It wouldn’t be a message of effusive allyship, it would just be factual. It was fun! It was good. Made me laugh, made me smile :) 

This is also to say: the mom with an idea for Grindr photos and the sister who recommends douching equipment would be friends.

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When I was in my MFA, I was in a workshop where I was the only queer person.

I submitted a short story called “Boyfriend Twin,” which was about two men named A and B who looked exactly the same, both with beards and a certain body type. They live together. B has body issues. A meets a man with a beard at a bar and brings him home. The three of them look like they could be related.

“I think it’s confusing,” someone said.