GAYLETTER

You all know it’s Pride month, duh. There are rainbows everywhere; on Facebook, on Starbucks cups, on Broadway in SoHo. Phew! It can be totally exhausting, but hey, it’s wonderful to see our symbol shared around the world. It clearly shows that the those in charge are willing to see the beautiful and bold LGBTQ+ community, and damn, we should be happy about that. But, if I may chew your ear off for a moment, I want to offer a small bit of advice as the month closes out next week and capitalism resumes its erect posture within the heterosexual margin. As brands and agencies and pop culture asks more and more of the LGBTQ community, know when and where are the right places to offer your vibrant energies. We are a creative bunch, over-ripe with a need to make artworks. Some of us (as you can see from the history of queer characters on TV) are just brilliant talkers, but we know our humor and ideas aren’t strung out of thin air. They’re delivered straight from the heart, and maybe we’re campy and we can kiki, but that doesn’t mean that our self-deprecating jokes and fierce face of makeup are done without the knowledge of our LGBTQ history coiled so tightly in struggle and shame. People may want to use your inherent knowledge for their own good, but to wrap this up, as we go forward into a queer future, always research the projects and creators you agree to work with. Know their styles, gauge their integrity and by all means, question them. We know it can be fun to see our community being vacuumed up through the mainstream (we have billboards and pop stars now!), but don’t be quick to “yas” and “gag” for everything. Be smarter and fiercer like hot children we are. We love you all very deeply. Happy Pride!  —Chris Stewart