Pride month always delivers some incredible queer art, but this year is something else entirely.
Maybe it’s because we’re marking the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, or perhaps it’s a reflection of the larger moment of transition we’re at as a country, or as a planet.
Or it could just be that it’s summer and we’re all ready to blast off.
Related: WATCH: US soldiers get down to Todrick Hall’s ‘Nails Hair Hips Heels’ in viral video
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Whatever the case, a music video from The Try Guys’ Eugene Lee Yang featuring music by ODESZA titled “I’m Gay” has us awestruck.
“Eugene comes out as gay in his original, deeply personal music video,” reads the release, and all we can say is hit play:
Dan Tracer is a queer writer, noisemaker, and amateur astral projector. Find him on Instagram.
Donston
Hasn’t this dude been very much out and open and public for years? Or is it that he’s now owning a “gay” identity? Did he feel it was important for him to embrace “gay” instead of just saying he was a part of the “lgbtq community” and is into dudes? And what made him come to the conclusion that it was important to him to say he was “gay”? This type of stuff is more interesting to me than the video.
I do think we need to have more discussion around the differences between being unabashedly yourself and embracing an identity. They are two different things, represent separate arcs and struggles, and neither automatically equates to genuine self-comfort, self-understanding and confidence. While both have their problematic elements and limitations.
Hussain-TheCanadian
As someone who follows the try guys” series on buzzfeed, it was apparent to the gay fans that hes gay, the “hints” he dropped where more than just a wink. Then rumors started that hes bisexual, it drove his female Fans crazy, and shortly after that, his drag queen segments came out, and that was all the confirmation I needed.
I’m happy for him, Asian families are probably the most conservative on the planet, and the idea of reproduction and carrying on the family name are important cultural features for men especially, lord knows I had to go through it.
Donston
I’ve only seen a few of their videos over the years. But I do recall reading about him embracing being “lgbtq representation” months ago. And when I looked him up months ago he appeared to be a very out dude who everyone knew was into dudes. He just avoided fully embracing “gay”. So, I didn’t quite see how this was supposed to be some revelation. But I guess it still is a big deal to say that you’re “gay” (or at least not to distance yourself from “gay”) and to completely disconnect yourself from hetero-normalcy, hetero expectations and “straight privilege”.
thisisnotreal
Don I really wish I could put my finger on what exactly it is about your posts that just exhausts me. I’m a very philosophical and analytical human being and I love human psychology, but even I find your comments about the nitty gritty of human sexuality and gender and identity to just be way too hyper broken down and I find myself constantly saying “it’s not that deep”. yes the world is fuxed up, yes humanity needs to expand its thinking and outlooks on a limitless number of things but I can’t be the only one who finds the irony in your comments. I’ve gathered from your past comments that your part of the anti label crowd(which is fine) and I feel like I can remember you making comments in the past about people constantly creating hyper specific labels for every little quirk and personality trait they have and it being unnecessary to you (which I agree with btw). But then SO many of your comments say the same copy and paste line about romantic vs sexual leanings and homoromantic vs heteroromantic this or how romantic attractions differ from sexual attractions and it continues ad nauseum. Sounds like a lot of hyper specific labeling and cherry picking if you ask me which seems to be something you don’t like so…I’m confused.
At the end of the day I specifically just get nosey about what gender a person wants to date/sleep with and I feel like the answer to that question should be pretty cut and dry unless your trying to be over complicated. I don’t care about the “dimensions of someone’s romantic and/or sexual leanings or the layers of their gender identity and expression” cuz at the end of the day it doesn’t affect me and I don’t need to know it (and tbh I feel like a decent segment of our community won’t care either cuz all they want to know on sites like Grindr or Tinder is what equipment you have and if you will sleep with them or not) I’ll freely admit that at the end of the day I’m one of those people who likes my information to be nice and curated and concise and if you can’t answer my question or define a part of your character or identity without veering into intense hyperbole or analogies then you’ve already lost my interest in your answer.
Donston
Thisisnotreal, I appreciate this post and I appreciate most of your posts in general. You’re not just blatantly and needlessly disrespectful or irate. I get that folks (especially people who posts here) often just want identity and slogans and just want to know about people’s sex lives. But this isn’t the 90’s and early 2000’s any longer. We’ve moved beyond the basics. As you can probably tell with the tons of identities out here nowadays and with all the often convoluted/contradicting/confusing conversations around fluidity and the spectrum, that many folks just don’t see themselves as merely who they have sex with or see themselves as merely an identity. Nor are many folks simply interested in pushing identity and self-pride. A lot of people want legit and honest conversation. A lot of people are striving more for individualism. A lot of people want to talk more in-depth about more nuanced issues and struggles. And many people are sick of being told that they can’t talk about certain things because it’s “too complicated” or because it’s not pc or it doesn’t particularly advance anyone’s agenda. People want to get more real.
I don’t really care all that much about public figures’ sex lives. I just don’t. I get why others find it so fascinating. But often times when people say that they’re struggling with their sexuality or struggling with coming out or struggling with identity it’s not merely about sex or identity. (You also make the mistake same mistake that a lot of people make in assuming that identity is the same thing as orientation or the same thing as “lifestyle”. But that’s another conversation). I like to get into the nuances of a lot of what’s going on out here. Because ultimately, things do not begin and end with who you fvck or what you identify as or coming out. Though it’s perfectly fine if that’s what is for you.
I don’t communicate with people in “real life” like I do here. I try to keep things as straightforward and streamlined as possible face-to-face unless they really want to “go there”. Here is where I dive into the psychological, sociological, economical, ego-centric aspects of identity, sense of self, sex, motivations, etc. And yes, I do understand why people get exhausted. But I can’t help looking underneath the rug and seeing things from different angles. I’m sorry that it’s exhausting or not uplifting enough or doesn’t turn you on.
thisisnotreal
@donston I honestly think when it comes down to it it’s just a difference of generations. I was born in 85 (which doesn’t even feel that long ago) but things have changed SO much in jus my lifetime and I’m probably overly guilty of viewing the world through my own personal lens. I am both gay and disabled, and while I feel like a lot of discussions around disability, or disability and the gay community etc are fairly cut and dry and I relate heavily to most things said in those debates, I’m not gonna lie the things said and discussed about sexuality and identity these days frequently leave me confused and not wanting to delve down that rabbit hole. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been “lucky or privileged?” To born as a generic gay cis white male so I’ve never had to explain overly to people what my sexual dimensions are (cuz that’s a very short discussion lol) or the layers of my identity (cuz I don’t identity as anything other than a cis male in terms of gender) so yeah maybe my situation has just made me view everything as needing to be as simple as my own has always been.
Not gonna lie, there’s a lot out there now that wasn’t really discussed as a thing when I was growing up (gender fluid wasn’t a thing you were just a tomboy or effeminate if you didn’t fit in with your gender roles that society said you should, there was no pansexual or demisexual or any of those other ones that exist now it was just gay straight bisexual etc). Part of me would love to debate all these new identities and self descriptors as well a how valid they actually are as individual identities (cuz sometimes there feels like a lot of unnecessary overlap) but then there’s the part of me who sees comments like yours and just gets tired of trying to keep up with how fast new identities and descriptors are coming out, or what the newest letter on lgbt is, and I just think maybe I’m already too far removed from newer generations to get on board with any of it and I’m already part of the “older generation” where we did things in ways everyone now thinks is weird. It makes me feel old lol
SnakeyJ
I can’t stand these people now who think coming out in this day and age is still such a big deal. He’s so arrogant he makes an entire video about it too. He’s a nobody so why should anyone care?
Jared MacBride
Why does this bother you so much? Coming out is a big deal to a lot of people. This guy tried to have a little fun with it, which might make it easier for others. Good for him.
Donston
I’m pretty certain that you are very well aware that it being 2019 does not equate to someone being comfortable with being, and I’m sure you’re aware that the year we are has nothing to do with an individual’s struggles or their circumstances. Also, he’s not quite a nobody considering he’s been trending on Twitter for the past few hours.
Yes, I’d like to get to a point where being “out” is less of a spectacle, where people can just be themselves without the drama or self-pity and where we emphasize identity less. That’s ultimately what will make things easier for everyone. However, this is hardly harming anyone. And everyone has their own struggles and journeys and their own way of “being out”. You don’t get to dismiss that.
thisisnotreal
@donston…now see THIS is a comment I completely agree with, what a welcome change.
justgeo
Just boring Madonna-esqque shit WGAF
frenchjr25
Good for him. He’s said before that he’s part of the LGBTQ community but never gave specifics. And by the way Queerty he hasn’t been with Buzzfeed for over a year. The Try Guys have their own brand now, with a YouTube channel and merch.