Seeing a lot of discourse RE: younger millennials bemoaning that they're Old and Cringe now and I just want to reach out and reassure today's youth that the best strategy for remaining relevant in a fast-paced world is to simply NEVER be even faintly cool or on-trend, at all, ever
I’m cultivating a nonbinary David the Gnome era where I just live at peace in the woods with my gay wife and my animal friends and let the world go by.
Wait this could also be Frog and Toad, but they might be too masc and amphibious to represent me and Mel.
I describe them as “our favorite gay, ace uncles” quite frequently… but, like, I think their separate living situations might point more towards aro. Mileage may vary.
(I have a Frog and Toad sweatshirt and would highly recommend acquiring one.)
Frog and Toad are canonically gay. Unfortunately, Arnold Lobel was closeted until very late in life, with a wife and children, and Frog and Toad were a kind of fantasy outlet for depicting the life he wanted.
Right?! But at the same time I’d much rather the kids grow up to realize “oh wait I’m a straight normie” after living a gay nerdy weirdo life than the other way around. After being aggressively closeted in high school I’m like you know what? Everyone gets to be gay now.
If anything, I think most of us identify-affirming parents & educators are focussed on un-groonming kids so that they can just exist as they are, whatever that looks like for them.
I am a gay nerdy Trekkie weirdo into science fiction, Cajun and Irish and Scottish traditional music, DJing on non-commercial radio, cooking Creole and Italian and Sichuan food, can’t dance, have no fashion sense, and loving every minute of it.
If I wasn't following you already, this right here would decide for me to do so!
(Self and hubby were the "token" straights at the Gay Trekkies club in Dublin. We gave ourselves *great* nicknames.)
Gods, it's been so long since I've been to Ireland. I miss it. (Ack, it's almost been 20 years! We flew to Dublin to see Planxty in February 2004 -- my fifth trip and my husband's first.)
I started dating by letting people know up front I’m into D&D and comic books and linguistics and space facts, and move on from there to talk about my favorite species of tree (the metasequoia!) — if they’re still interested, it’s usually a good date.
If you as a millennial can spend a decade listening to old people say there's something wrong with your generation, and then turn around and be weird about the generations coming up after you, you failed an important test
As a young adult I was lucky to make a lot of friends who were 15+ years older and firmly beyond caring about the flavor of the month, who liked the same obscure stuff as me, and were a calm harbor during my various youthful disasters — that’s something I forever want to pay forward
I was told in library school 20+ years ago, "You're not going to be cool. Just accept that."
They were mostly directing this to librarians working with teens, which is not my focus.
I've always thought sincerity works best.
I have no business with what the kids are doing These Days... but I wish they wouldn't do it dressed like my classmates from high school. No! Go invent something!
I am both disturbed and amused by the fact that I probably still have old trash I wore as a teen that would make me trendy and cutting-edge if dug it out and wore it now.
Assuming any of it still fits.
Oh. I just remembered luminous socks. Bad in the 80s, worse when repeated. Ripped jeans, I’m less bothered by. Also, flared jeans (earlier this year?) - less disturbing.
