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This week I chose to reflect on James Baldwin’s interview in the article titled The Last Interview.  He mentioned a few things that stuck out to me.  For example, when asked if he considered himself gay.  James Baldwin responded no.  He also went on to say that the word “gay” has always rubbed him the wrong way.  He saw himself as a “homosexual” even though he felt that wasn’t the perfect label for himself.  He went on to say his sexual preference was private and that it was a matter between him and God, which I agree with it.  In this world, we have labels for everything such as our gender, race, sexual preference, religious beliefs and social class.  My questions are, “Why do we have so many labels and are labels beneficial?”  One major con to labeling is that it places us in groups which can have a negative impact on our society causing division and separation.
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I also admired James Baldwin’s response to Goldstein’s question about what advice would you give a gay man who is about to come out?  Baldwin stated that, “You have to go the way your blood beats.  If you don’t live the life you have, you won’t live some other life, you won’t live any life at all.”  I feel as though his advice to someone coming out as gay could also be used in many other situations that life places one in.  For instance, this could be great advice for someone who is straight, transgender or even for someone who decides to choose another profession.  Everyone has the right to live their life as they choose.  Life is short and everyone deserves to be happy no matter what their preference is.

Comments

  1. Victoria RestlerFebruary 19, 2018 at 7:45 PM

    Thanks for your post Porsche. Yes- his words definitely resonated. I think your uestion about labels is a really good one. Did you check out Kelly's post? She shared a great video of a poet named Kai who talks about being Black, being a woman and being gay, and how her Black, male teacher told her, "race always comes first," and white feminists told her, "we're all women, that comes first," and she was left feeling invisible and excluded from both communities/ struggles. These groups made her feel that claiming her labels was divisive. I'd love to know your thoughts on that piece.

    Best
    Victoria

    ReplyDelete

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