Heterophobia

Last night talk­ing with my house­mate on the sub­ject of Every­one Thinks I’m Gay, it was sug­gest­ed to me that maybe I should­n’t wear my ear­rings. I have two pierc­ings in my left ear­lobe. For the last few years I’ve worn one small stud and a small ring.

So I took my ear­rings out, did­n’t think much of it until this morn­ing. I was get­ting ready to go out to the store, and I put my sun­glass­es on and checked myself in the mirror.

I look like some­one who beat up nerds in high school.

OK, maybe it’s a stretch to say that what some­one else thinks looks het­ero equals what I think obnox­ious frat­boy looks like, but um.… still kin­da uncomfortable.

“Don’t look het­ero, because het­eros are all bul­ly­ing shit­heads.” Yeah, maybe I’ve been liv­ing in San Fran­cis­co too long.

I was nine­teen when one of the admin­is­tra­tors at my col­lege told me I was “too sen­si­tive and intel­li­gent to be straight.” It took me almost a decade to real­ize that that uncom­fort­able feel­ing I felt was offense, and that maybe I should have punched him in the nose.

Any­way, off to the gro­cery store.

No More Love—God Lives Underwater