Welcome Out, Zachary Quinto!

Welcome out, Zachary Quinto! As I was trolling through Twitter updates last night, I came across the delightful news that another well-respected member of Hollywood has joined the ranks of the out and proud. Sci fi nerds will recognize Mr. Quinto as the superhuman (and highly disturbed) Sylar from the television series Heroes and as Spock from the rebooted Star Trek movie franchise. And now, fellow queers can rejoice over the news that yet another public figure has shaken off the confines of the (career) closet.

I think what marks Quinto's official coming out as a remarkable one (aside from the thunderous cheers emanating from all the thrilled gents out there) was the utter class behind Quinto's words and the low-key approach behind Benjamin Wallace's article written for New York Magazine (which I encourage readers to check out). The temptation to twist Quinto's words into another sensationalist, superficial headline would have been an overwhelming lure for any journalist, but Wallace upheld his professionalism and, most importantly, allowed Quinto to speak for himself. I know that the media-at-large took this morning as an opportunity to trot out the typical "YES, I'M GAY!" headlines, but I think we should be celebrating the original article for its tact and its respect for the gent in question.

I leave you with Zachary Quinto's video for the It Gets Better project and The Trevor Project, uploaded on October 6th, 2010. So, cheers to you, sir, and cheers to how far you've come!

Born this Way—Even if the Photos Lie

I know everyone and their queer aunt has landed on the Born This Way photo blog/essay in the last month now, but I wanted to toss in a thought or two on the subject for the record (since that's what us nosy bloggettes are notorious for).

Once a queer kid has taken the steps to accept herself, or to start sharing her real self to others, one of the greatest moments beyond the closet door arrives in the form of retrospection—we go back to excavate the photo albums for evidence of the baby gays we were. More often than not, we stumble across those blatant, obvious photos screaming out our proto-queerness, and we marvel over the fact our loved ones were somehow shocked when we chose to come out.

O'Neill sent me this link a few weeks ago, and I cannot stop poring over the personal stories and the adorable photos that queers across the Internet have submitted. I find it overwhelming (in the awesome sense) to see photos ranging across the twentieth-century. It's fascinating to read the accounts of queer people growing up throughout different decades among various cultural backgrounds. Despite our differences, we all share that one common experience of emerging from our own fears and insecurities to finally embrace that tiny version of ourselves from so long ago. Born This Way achieved the one goal I wished to see—a space where queer-identified people of all ages could gather, reminisce, and find our similarities despite the generation gaps.

Brilliant! Enlightenment, at last!

Of course, the next morning, I ran to the photo albums to find pictures of me in full baby dyke regalia, but—

I'll be damned.

I discovered I remembered life a lil' differently from the photos populating our albums. Most of the shots taken of Lil' Miz Moffatt were from family gatherings which meant I was decked out in full-on party dresses for the occasion. I come from a British-Scottish-Newfoundlander background, and I can tell you it's a traditional scene when it comes to gender norms. Now, of course, we've all relaxed a touch with age, but we were not exempt from formal attire as kiddies. And, having an older sister guaranteed girly hand-me-downs in the dozens…

Of course, I know assuming stereotypes tends to be more hurtful than helpful—I know of a large contingent of queer femmes who would be rightly pissed at the assumption that butch little girl = queer (and I know of some butch straight gals who would take offence to being stereotyped, too). But, when I remember the clothes I loved wearing as a child, I know for a fact it revolved around overalls and baseball tees.

So…where are those shots?

A few exist, but the overwhelming image skews me toward the opposite end of the spectrum.

Regardless of the strange absence of the everyday shots, I'll still take to skimming through the albums to get that shot of the baby dyke I was. In the meantime, I suggest you check out Born This Way if you haven't already—it's a guaranteed smile waiting to happen.