June 2, 2021
Season 2, Episode 15
Gil and I discuss Pride and pride month, our thoughts on the commercialism and how things have changed.
Transcript
Eric:
Hello, and welcome to The Q Lounge Podcast. I'm Eric and I'm Gil. Join us as we discuss news stories and life situations. As they relate to the LGBTQIA plus experience, please visit us at theQloungepodcast.com and hit that subscribe button or listen wherever you get your podcasts while you're there. Please leave us a five star review and don't forget to tell your friends. Hello and welcome to The Q Lounge. I'm Eric
Gil:and I'm Gil.
Eric:we want to wish everyone a happy pride.
Gil:Happy pride. Gil. Happy pride,
Eric:Eric. So happy pride everybody. let's talk a little bit about pride. What is pride for you? Gil?
Gil:Pride is a representation for me. It's visibility. It's accepting everyone's differences. And I think that's the best part of our community is how diverse, because it does not matter what color you are. Doesn't matter your height or weight. Everyone is part of the community and we come in oh, beautiful shapes and sizes and attitudes, some of them. how about you Eric.
Eric:I think a lot of it is representation. I think it's beautiful to be able to. Celebrate your acceptance of yourself. Cause I think that's where it starts because of society, these views, or even like old views. Cause it's getting better now, but views of the LGBTQIA+ community. So I think that's definitely an important part that celebration of self-acceptance and self-realization fighting against the oppression that you've had. You have to endure. Yeah, I think that's a big part of it for me. Yeah, I
Gil:interrupted you just like self discovery, I think also within yourself and just, definitely the acceptance part is the huge aspect in the way you are up, your upbringing plays a hell of a factor, all of your, all those elements from the house, but definitely the discovery of it or realizations like, Hey ha I am a little different. Cause I could speak to that. Like I knew I was different since I was five years old, I knew something was. Different, everyone was like, oh, Gil's girlfriend. I'm like, you're a cute, that's cute. It just, I knew then. And but when I finally really discovered the words for it, then I'm like, oh, that seems more appropriate.
Eric:Yeah, no, I totally get that. I think another thing, celebration of oneself and celebration of your uniqueness and just celebrating of the community, but definitely celebrating of yourself because once you recognize or realize that you're quote unquote different. Yeah. You have to accept it. Correct. And then once you accept it, then you celebrate it. Yeah. And you're talking about how how, like, when you're the way you're raised and outside influences from like home and society and family, like I've recently since we've been off for what, three or four weeks. Yes. I've just been doing a lot of self work, which I've been doing for the past probably year and a half anyways, but even more because we haven't been podcasting. So I have nothing else to do, but work on me and I've come to realize I have like lot of internalized homophobia. And I have a lot of that. I've had, I had a lot of that plagued me for most of my life. Yeah. I'm now trying to push through a lot of it and I'm trying to push past all of it, but it was just something that I realized. I was like, oh wow. I didn't realize that I had so much animosity towards myself because of societal ideals of who I was supposed to be or how I was supposed to act and oh men aren't, it's supposed to be this way. And oh, I can't be this way. So then I have these little microaggressions within myself, towards myself. And I think that's where a lot of my like self-hatred and self-loathing comes from is because I've had so much internalized homophobia. Yeah. And so I've been working a lot on breaking that cycle. I've been working a lot on breaking a lot of cycles of my own, like that plagued me, but that's definitely one that I didn't even realize I had until probably maybe probably a couple months ago. But then just like I said, being off forced me to just really look at it and I'm like, huh, I could have done this different, or I could've done that different. Or why the hell did I have this fucked up attitude about this and that?
Gil:So it takes, it definitely takes time or especially just realizing that you are your worst critic. Just when people Used to say, oh, they'll let other people hurt you. Like honey, there is nothing. Anyone's going to say that I haven't said to myself at one point or said worse. So that's why I like people can't make fun of me. I'll play. I never took it because I could do a way better job, but it's definitely, I would say the best part of the pandemic has definitely been that is that I think a lot of people had to come to terms with themselves because there's a lot of alone time. Let's be real. We all did. And you start realizing insame thing with you, I'm in the same boat where there's some microaggressions within myself that I've recognized that. The conservatism within myself on my, how I portray myself. Yeah. There is a fear of it also ofam I too gay. Am I too, this am I too, that I don't want to come off this way because a part of me it's also, I didn't want to fit that bubble up. Oh wow. There goes another stereotypical gay guy. Yeah. I want to be a bit more oh, look at that. He looks just like everyone else or blend.
Eric:Yeah. Yeah. Society happy. Correct. Rather than living your truth and your authenticity, which we talk about often on this show, you're trying to, you're trying to make society happy. And I was like, oh yeah, I was totally doing that. I was totally succumbing to that fucked up perception. Ideals of how I was supposed to be acting and how I was supposed to fit in and like shunning things because oh no, that's just, that's not quote unquote masculine enough. And what the fuck is that? What is that? I don't know. Like I was reading something the other day on Facebook before I got banned again, or Facebook jail again. And this time it, for our listeners this time, it wasn't anything bad, but whatever. Anyways I was reading this thing, talking about how let's just because we're coming into pride month, let's remember that we don't need to dress up like sluts and we don't need to do this. And we don't need, we don't need to be like making out with everybody and we don't need to do this and that people's kids are going to be there so cover up and blah, blah, blah. I'm like why. Now you're dictating to people how they can and cannot celebrate because they're just being proud of being themselves because they've, I love the younger generation and the fact that they're like, fuck you I'm going to just be myself. And I'm jealous of that. We've talked about that before. And I'm like, yeah. If they want to wear a cork and duct tape, good for them correct. Go at it. Yeah. I don't think we need to force those puritanical ideals on our community because society does that enough for us. Correct. And it's supposed to be a place for us to feel accepted and welcome. And there's definitely a lot of In our fighting amongst the different groups and cliques of the gay community, like the twinks versus the bears versus this versus that. But we still all have a common cause and a common thread. And that's just to be treated like humans and to be treated like people and to have equality.
Gil:Yeah. I don't know. I always feel like they're trying to make it. TV friendly because they're like, oh, it's a corporate sponsorships and make sure that it's nice and easy. And we're going to have the, I don't know the correct dress code sponsored by target. I love target. I bought stuff there, but what I'm saying, it's I that's the way I feel like it's either that, or it's starting to, to some goddamn Coachella and it's not, this was originally a protest movements. This is what it was. It was liberation. It wasn't about making people feel comfortable. People aren't comfortable with it. It was not a goal.
Eric:Yeah, this comes with being uncomfortable. You have to step out of that comfort zone and that goes back to even like racial injustices. And we will, we won't go too much into that tonight and I'm not, I don't know why I'm venturing this way, but everyone's, you've talked about this too. Government takes a long time to react and I'm like, when it comes to racial inequality and justice, it needs to just act though, like we don't have another 30 years for them to be like, okay, now we're going to give you this. But we're still going to do this. No, like when it comes to humanitarianism, We just all need to be like on a equal playing field. We need to all have the same rights. You can't dictate to me what I can and can't do. I can't dictate to you what you can and can't do, obviously there's laws in government, but you can't tell me, like I can't get married because I don't love who you think is acceptable for me to love. Correct. Or I can't have these opportunities because I'm darker than you are. That's just those I think, need to change rapidly.
Gil:Correct. And I think that's where for us term limits within politicians just need to kick in. Yeah. Because you have people lifers. I don't believe the job should be life that's life appointed positions. They're not, you can Mitch McConnell's in there. Or, even God bless the Diane Feinstein and I'm a Californian and I did vote for her, but four terms is more than enough. I she's been there since I was a child. I was an elementary. Wow. Kindergarten. Yeah. To give you an idea, I'm in my thirties now, I think time, there has to be at some point term limits. And I think that could speed the process. These laws are created by people, voted by people to pursue something, and that's the thing it's I am glad we're a Republic. I hate when people are like, we're a democracy. We're not a democracy. If he was it's majority rules. Yeah. Do we really want that? Abso-fucking-lutely not. We know that it doesn't work. It doesn't benefit the minority. Yeah, absolutely. We are a minority. Yes. So we'll never win with that so that's, I think that's part of the issue is term limit, but also we, we just need to make sure we're voting people incorrectly also and just being, I don't know, smart about it.
Eric:So I have a question for you. How do you, what do you think of pride now? Like the way it's received in the way it's viewed? Because I remember growing up and even before I was out and before I even questioned myself, but then even like afterwards, when I was having my whole internal struggle is, and all this other stuff pride was like, kept on the hush oh yeah, it's pride weekend. But oh, don't tell anyone you went to the parade. Cause then everyone's going to talk about you and say that you're gay and blah, blah, blah, which is bullshit. But There was that mentality. And now it's you hear about it on all the radio stations, like it's pride weekend, we're going to celebrate, which is awesome. I think that's fucking great. Yeah. But I, it's just it is weird for me because I remember it being like such a like hush thing. And I don't know if it's because of being in New Mexico and the high Latin influence and the machismo out here, or if it's just because I went to a Christian school and so I was just around that or a combination of it, or that was just the sign of the times.
Gil:I think it, I think possibly I can't speak for there because growing up here, it was always on TV. So it's always been a big thing, but I remember it a lot more. As like a huge community coming together and less of the now it's become, like I said, like that Coachella it's the new drinking day or weekends, so that straight people could just get plastered. So they cannot make
Eric:sense. Like it's like they're Cinco de Mayo so that everyone can pretend like they're Mexican to get drunk. Yeah.
Gil:And that's the way I've been feeling the last couple of prides where I'm just like, what the hell is this? Because you have all these bros suddenly around and I get it, we're accepted within the community, but this is to feature the gays, not features straight boys trying to find the hags, if that makes sense. That's not the goal of it.
Eric:And that's honestly too, that's like a true situation. Like you go to the gay clubs and stuff like that. Yeah. There's tons of straight guys and tons of broey dudes there, and there might be the one or two that are curious and we're all hoping for that. But for the most part, they're there to pick up the hot. Girls that hang out with all the gay boys that are their besties, because we know how to drink and our fruity drinks and dance and have fun and we can react. Most of us actually have rhythm. Yeah.
Gil:And we could, yeah. Except for our Northwest counterparts, we apologize in advance. Sorry, Micah. Yeah no. It's just the way I've been feeling lately. It's just, I know people are going like, oh, it's too many corporate, the corporate sponsorships and stuff like that. To me, it's just, it's visibility. It's part of what happens when you go main stream. That's just reality. Come on now. But I think it's definitely the. I feel it's almost getting watered down and was like, oh my God, we're just going to go there. It's another drunk holiday. Hey yeah, I Irish this time. Oh no, I'm Latino. No, I'm gay. Just a drink. No, cause that's what I see out here. Okay. And like I said, the visibility part, we've always been on TV. It was on channel seven.
Eric:No, and that's really cool. See, I didn't grow up with being seen everywhere and it was like always just kept on the low oh, it's pride weekend. Are you going to pride? Ooh, you went to pride. That's so weird. Why did you go to pride? And I honestly for a long time, I always ended up having to work pride anyways. So like I never really went to pride. I've been, I went to pride a few times, but, huh. Did you and I have never been to a prior together. Oh
Gil:gosh. Oh my God.
Eric:Which is really weird. Cause you would think you and I would have gone.
Gil:No, we did go once. We
Eric:did go once. It was the time I PR one of the times I performed.
Gil:Okay. Swore, okay.
Eric:Now we did go once
Gil:the year was 1,850,
Eric:I was actually just watching this thing cause there's, I don't know if you've seen it. There's a whole pride series on FX, which you can see on Hulu. And they were talking about how, like in the 1930s and forties, like when you came, it was more like more accepted than it was like in the fifties and sixties, because like you go to your family with your as a guy you would go to your family's house with. Your boyfriend. And it was just like, okay, whatever come on in, let's all eat, blah, blah, blah. And then as things changed and then you get into the fifties and sixties and the government changes and politics change. It became demonized. I just thought it was interesting though. Yeah, I think it speaks a lot to, like you said, geographically, you're in San Francisco or in the bay area and as a child, like you saw it everywhere and it was just a part of life. And for me it was not, yeah, it was taboo. It was
Gil:negative. And it's such a strange you, like I said, for my upbringing, even though yes, we are grew up Catholic and we're devout Catholics, anyone. I know everyone was like, oh, an Italian or a Latino Catholic. I'm like nothing almost could beat a Filipino Catholic. I can tell you right now we can out prayer. No, but in seriousness it's it was, I don't know, it was very diverse here, but the one thing I didn't grow up around was conservative. Like the Republicans that was to me foreign, I did not meet any true Republican until I left for college. And that was for me, like mind blow is looking at them like a unicorn. And I was like, what? Oh my God, you're kidding. I thought they were kidding. And I was like, oh no, you're real. Oh, I had no idea. People supported those kinds of anti abortions and
Eric:yeah. And we won't go into that, but there's new laws coming out.
Gil:The minority for us, that mentality to me, that's
Eric:Refreshing. Yeah. Yeah. I see. I think like the way I grew up, I think everything was like a 50 50 kind of, I just thought everything was like always 50, 50. Yeah. And everything was like level. I grew up like being open-minded and being actually pretty progressive, which is cool, which is great. But I also grew up, I've come to realize with like certain blinders on yeah. Where I thought, like everybody had this and everybody had that and everybody did this and everybody did that and they come to a point like, oh no, there's nothing further from the truth than that. So it was like a level of naivete that I had and going into all this and yeah, I just, I find it interesting. Now I will say although, because of all my internal fuckery that's been in my head and still in my head, but all the self hatred and. Unwilling to accept things as they were and are. I always went out clubbing for pride. I love going clubbing for pride because everybody that's like that doesn't really ever go out is there for pride. Cause it's their excuse to drink and have fun and whatever. Yeah, I always love, I love going out for pride for going clubbing for pride. I think it's so much fun.
Gil:It is, the parties are fun. Like the pink party out here, what used to be the old pink party? It was that for what I believe it was the Friday, right before that weekend going into the weekend, it used to be like the kickoff and it was different. It was gigantic. And then now after several, I think it was violent attacks, stuff like that, that they. Disbanded. It there's some underground stuff, but the parties are incredibly fine overpriced now, of course, I'd be, you have a great time.
Eric:You have the corporate sponsorship now.
Gil:Yeah. You have helps.
Eric:What do you think about all the corporate sponsorship? I know you talked a little bit about representation and getting it recognized out there in society,
Gil:To me I like it. I like the corporate sponsorships for, guess it's part of that visibility part. Getting it out there and it's not so much the, you could easily talk about, oh, it's just, they drop us right after pride. Yeah. They drop everyone. It's to make a quick buck. We all knew this though. But I think it's good for those kids who are out in the middle of nowhere, where they see it. And it slowly becomes normal to them or knowing that they're our voice or somebody cares to a degree. Yeah. And I think that's where I'm taking it for that instead of it being completely.
Eric:Yeah. Cause just our conversation right now, like you talking about, like you grew up in the bay, I grew up out here in Albuquerque and for you, it was like readily available, correct. For me, not so much, but it was still more available for me than it was for someone who lives in a rural community. They're like they have the, no one to identify with or they're in a super religious, rural community and they have five churches, but like one school and everybody knows you and oh, I can't be gay because then everybody's going to know. Yeah. And yeah. So getting that visibility out there helps you to feel less alone. Yeah. In a lot of ways. It also reminds me of a couple of discussions we had earlier in this season where we were talking about movies specifically or in Hollywood and having, like having CIS straight people, playing gay roles. And there's the argument of if you have the big name draw, it brings people to the theater. So they're going to see the story. Yeah. But then other people are like they shouldn't be telling our story. We should be telling our own stories, but we don't have the big name draw. Yeah. So it's like that weird.
Gil:I still feel like it's still, you're still in the infant stage of the whole movement and you're making it more normal once you gain enough pop, or more people are coming out from the get-go not coming in, 40 years later into the career coming in, right from the get, go building it up as a gay actor who, whatever they want to be, that I think in a time you won't need to, do the coming out story played by a straight boy. Yeah. It could be played by somebody else. I don't know. I think, but I don't know. I think in time it's all about time with it.
Eric:What do you think about it though? Now? I'm just going to ask you
Gil:that question for now.
Eric:I personally, like I personally don't necessarily have an issue with straight people playing gay parts, because I do think that if they, if it's a big enough name draw, I do think that visibility is importance, correct? Because most gay actors are not going to be like Neil, Patrick Harris, or they, he has a pretty big name draw, but he doesn't have the name draw is like a Liam Hemsworth or Chris Hemsworth. And I know that they haven't, I don't know that they've ever played a gay role, but if they did that would be our Chris Evans. And he, I know he's a huge ally. That has a big name draw. So people are going to come in and see the story and identify with it. But then you go into the whole little, because everyone wants to know your business and then they like demonize it. Like how was it to play a gay role?
Gil:Yeah, I dunno. I feel like we're, it's going to take time. Yeah. I never, personally, I don't find anything wrong with the person. If they're wanting to play a gay character, it's the same thing as people. With the issues with the YAY, we had our first, all Asian cast playing for the Crazy Rich Asians, but it's a great movie, by the way, it was a great movie, but just because they all look the same doesn't mean they're all from the same culture. No, exactly. There was Vietnamese. They're all trying to be from Singapore. There's Filipinos in there, there a bunch of people who are ethnically Chinese or half indigenous something else. They weren't all, maybe you could easily say it that way. They get the one Asian movie and just through a hodgepodge of 40 different countries together. No,
Eric:that's very true. And that's, I've always actually had a document. I
Gil:was like, ah, that person is not
Eric:because every person's not a lot of people like to be like, oh, like you said, all Asians fit into this. No Koreans are not the same as Japanese and
Gil:Chinese and the same thing. And I get, they're trying to portray gay film and I know people are like, oh, you should put a sh a gay character. But To me it's long it's. I think it's more about the story that, how are they portraying the character of, the gay storyline or whatever they try to do. I'm more intrigued about that than necessarily who is in it. And I guess, I don't know. That's just me right. Dealt with it.
Eric:Yeah, no, I agree with that. And actually just to
Gil:get to research, how does the actor find out how to be a gay? Something that they're not, but that's part of the acting role you act to what you are. Hell, we fake it in our jobs. I'm wonderful. Hear
Eric:you mean you're not a salty bitch to everybody
Gil:first is what we want to really be
Eric:like. Yeah, no, I ha I had one of those days today where I just wanted to you play the role. I just couldn't deal with people. What was I going to say? No. And as you were talking about, it also brings to my mind like memoirs of a geisha, which I love that movie, but. The actress was not Japanese. The main actress is not true.
Gil:There's oh, she has, her eyes are a certain way and she must be it's passing.
Eric:That's super offensive in that regard. It is. But like you said, like you're getting the story out there and it's about acting, but too, it's such a sticky situation for me. Like I remember when Jennifer Lopez was cast to Selena people were pissed off because she's Puerto Rican and she's not Mexican-American. So there are a lot of people that were upset about that too. And it reminds me of that situation as well. And look at native American tribes, they're like oh, you're gonna, you're gonna play Cherokee even though you're Zuni or Hopi or.
Gil:Or you have a bunch of dark white guys trying to, oh God, what did the spaghetti westerns from the sixties and fifties and seventies. Oh my Lord. Oh, they're so offensive, but they are a product of their time.
Eric:Yeah. And that's where you go into the sign of the times, which I know that's also an interesting topic to think about because a lot of people are like you can't use that as an excuse anymore. Like the sign of the times is not an excuse. And I get that yeah, you're right. It was still a shitty attitude to have, but it was an accepted attitude. Doesn't make it any less wrong. Yeah. But I don't necessarily know that we need to demonize a whole generation because. That as if they were willing, they're willing to evolve and actually educate themselves and learn and be like, oh, wow. Like I was really fucked up back then for thinking that way or accepting that, then I think they should be given that chance to grow. Yeah. Which I guess contradicts something that I said in an earlier episode,
Gil:but I think it's part of that acknowledging or knowing that, the way you thought at one point, given the information at that point in time, and I think people are making, or I try to get better for the Dell. People were making the best sound judgment, given what they know at that point and then changing it as more information becomes relevant. To that. I think it's part of that. If you accept the new information as truth and put away the pride, your personal pride or ignorance, you know that part of it. And you're like, what? I'm wrong? This is actually better. It's like me. Longest time I was making an irrational judgment on Baklava. I know this has nothing to do. I didn't like it. I was like, why would anyone eat that? You didn't like baklava? I did not. This is the most stupid thing I know. It's one of my absolute favorite desserts. Now. After I finally tried it, they like after reading what's in it and looking stop being, so it oh Nick, an immediate judgment. And I realized I wasted years of my life, not eating baklava and having that in my life. I'm just saying, that's the way I try to look at life and same thing. It just, as long as you're able to, especially you're made aware of the new education on the situation and you'd still choose not to do anything with it. That's where it becomes an issue. I
Eric:agree. Absolutely.
Gil:But if you know it and you accept it as the new truth and you live with the new true. I can't fault. Ya shit happens. I know that we're not perfect. I'm not going to go over there. Casting stones at you shifts. Take a look at my background. You'll probably be like, oh, gil. Was that the right? choice,
Eric:You don't throw stones through your class house,
Gil:like boulders. Maybe that's the thing. It's, everyone's looking for that pure person. I B I even, I, Harvey milk. I'm sure we can look at Harvey milk. And some of his curious situations that he might've had during the seventies, liberation, sexual liberation ease. It'll be like, oh, morally, he's not correct. Oh, we're going to take away the schools that are named after him and take away all his other accomplishments. I don't know. I think a product of his time is part of it. I don't know. I don't quite buy the, judging him with the same lens as another generation or two will be judging us equally. Yeah.
Eric:Yeah. Really quickly baklava. I just, I don't mean to that's like the weirdest thing for me to go about you just meet all these brilliant points and I'm like, let's talk baklava really quickly. Again.
Gil:I love it. I'm sorry. I'm going on record again. But no, for a long time, I did not. I refused.
Eric:And you hadn't tried it yet. You just didn't. It just sounded good
Gil:dismiss. It just didn't look appealing to me. I was like, why would anyone eat this?
Eric:So here's we sit here's yours years I wasted. So here's my, like everyone, I don't know if any of everyone of our listeners know this, but I'm a huge chocoholic. Like I love me. Some chocolate represents all that is right in the world. chocolate is the greatest gift. That is the only caffeine I consume in life is from chocolate. Cause I gave up caffeine two years ago and. I still eat chocolate though. So I get some caffeine from chocolate because chocolate's just amazing. There's nothing better than chocolate. However, baklava, pretty damn close. Now here's the funny thing with balaclava though, is I'm allergic to walnuts. I'm allergic to a lot of nuts. Teehee yeah. So I have to eat Moroccan balaclava made with pistachios. Because I can eat cooked pistachios. I can eat cooked almonds. I can't eat them in their raw form. Oh. But I can eat them in their cooked form. I still can't eat those regardless. So I can't eat like the traditional baklava that you get normally, like from wherever you go, I have to have I have to have a special baklava because I'm special. And I don't eat, I don't eat baklava that often, but oh my God. I was like one of the greatest things ever.
Gil:I know. And I, like I said, I love the Greek one or the Lebanese. So they've had Persian. I'm just like, oh, it's amazing. Yeah. I know. I know. Years wasted.
Eric:It's like an orgasm in your mouth. It's like someone just nutted it right in your mouth and they eat pineapple.
Gil:So there you go. There's my analogy. But once I gained the knowledge of it and I get to do it. Yeah. And I realized my error in judgment. But it's, like I said, for pride, definitely it's with visibility with corporation sponsor your corporate sponsorships and it's not going to be perfect. Yeah. I don't know why people keep looking for perfect. The first error is human humans are part of it. We're not going to be perfect. I don't understand why or who or what movements. Perfect. There's good. There's going to be a lot of issues. There's going to be some kind of issue. I don't know, that's just been me. I felt like it's just lately. Everyone was looking for the most perfect purist. I'm like, it's not there. It ain't there. Leave it alone.
Eric:Does it bug you how everyone's willing to jump on the bandwagon now
Gil:with Clive with pride? No, more the merrier we need allies. Yeah, absolutely. W we need it. The population total population is what? 13, 10% of the us 13% gay. We're out numbered. Yeah. Or out? I don't know. I thought it was, I feel like the gen Z it's like 50, 50 at this point. Like I said, it's more in numbers, it's strengthened numbers with it and you do need allies with it.
Eric:The gen Z years are definitely a lot more fluid for sure. And they're comfortable in their fluidity, which is amazing.
Gil:I, we do, we get jealous abso-freaking-lutely at least I do. I'm just like, Jesus, you mean?
Eric:Like I said, I know, right? Oh, I don't. Cause I look like a greasy old man. No, but back
Gil:in the day, if they were during
Eric:our time period, I know I would have been super happy. No. Yeah. I'm, like I said earlier in this episode, I'm totally jealous of how. Free and liberated the crew is now
Gil:the alphabet mafia is
Eric:yeah. Which I just learned as a clothing brand as well. It's a really, someone just told me that I don't know,
Gil:not even a sponsorship with them, just a side note.
Eric:Yeah. I totally admire the fluidity and their strength in numbers and being able to do all of that. I think that my jealousy also stems from the levels of internalized homophobia that I've had through the years. And now that I'm trying to erase all that. I'm like, I want to be out there with them too. And I'm like, I'm a lot older though now. So I don't know, applaud you from the sidelines,
Gil:but just us, the generation before us. Yeah, or really this generation moving for them pay for eight for this. Oh, absolutely. Has to be where we need to be. As I've mentioned before, like an entire generation pretty much gone through the aids crisis during that situation and if it wasn't for them or the really getting that visibility out there, we could be talking about completely different situation right now.
Eric:You watched it's a sin, right? Oh, I
Gil:loved it.
Eric:Me too. I cried and cried and cried.
Gil:It was greatly a part me, wished they went through the U S or maybe the deal us. Yeah. Pointless. But and I want them to paint Reagan exactly as that sort of a bitch is, I don't want them to sugar coat that if they do
Eric:understand why he's revered. Heavily, like I'm a Reagan Republican. I'm like, he was an asshole just as much as come on now. Like how, why is he highly regarded? He's responsible for millions of deaths. Yes. Of his own USP people.
Gil:But that series was good. Yeah. Oh God. It hit the neuro my cost to watch. It was like, cause what's going to happen. Yeah. But
Eric:it's but you knew it was going to happen, but there were like certain, there were certain people characters. I was like, oh my God. Like I wasn't expecting it to happen to that person. And then you're like, oh, but yeah, you like you as the movie, as the show, that's not the movie as the series goes on. And you're just like, yeah. And you're just like a matter of when. Yeah. And yeah I cried. Yeah.
Gil:His kids it's like you and I, when we first met in our early twenties, it's Hey, by the way, I was in my later twenties here we go. He had met you when you were 21, just turned 21. And it's pretty much saying that it's oh, by the way, two years, you guys are both going to be gone. And your entire group. Yeah. That's pretty much what it was saying. Like I said, it was an entire generation, gen X was eliminated. The gays from that time period were pretty much eliminated. There, there are some, because they were either closeted and they came on much later or after the aids pandemic or, yeah. Yeah. I always forget you are Gen X.
Eric:I am gen X. I know. I know. You always think I'm like alpha generation, but now I'm at the very tail end of gen X.
Gil:Oh my God. I always forget it because my mom was beginning of gen X. Okay. Tech. Cause I, you know how the way this stretches you're at the last I think last year, my mom's like the right at the beginning half of millennial.
Eric:It's funny because for a while I was considered like the forgotten gen generation or like generation Y yeah. And they're like, oh, no, like you're the first part of the, you're just the generation after the X-ers. But I think now they've now come back and said no, you're a part of gen X. You're just like in the last few months of gen X. Pretty much. Yeah. So like I grew up in the nineties, like I'm a nineties kid, even though, I guess you could say I grew up partly in the eighties as well.
Gil:Yeah. You'll at least remember portion of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I remember the nineties, but like more like late nineties, mid to late is more, more like my memory could kick in fully. Yeah.
Eric:And that's what I was still a Janet fan then to me. 1993 just happened. The Janet album just came out like. Five months ago IF as the jam Throb was being thrown down at the clubs, which it still does, but oh. Did you see that Kim Kardashian, I think was that she paid 50,000, maybe 25,000. I want to say 50,000 for that outfit. From the Janet video. She really, yeah. Wow. All goes to charity. Okay. I think they said Janet raised $4.4 million for children's charities with her auction. You want me to turn this into a Janet hour, but I just had to throw that in there. You were talking about that, or I was talking about that. She also represents all that's right when the human experience.
Gil:Oh yeah. We remember when
Eric:Janet and chocolate are like the two greatest things that I've ever lived.
Gil:It's gonna sound so opposite. I'm like, I'd love vanilla and I'd love any Lennox. I do. I love vanilla. I, everyone looks, I don't know it's basic, but it goes with
Eric:Everything, like I said, in one of our earlier dammit,
Gil:brown, outside white inside,
Eric:you are for you. Kink is the difference between vanilla bean and French vanilla. Ooh, don't get spicy. Ooh.
Gil:Yeah. Oh my goodness. So yeah that's pride. That is pride. That is pride. And this is why we love it. And we, you know what, I'm curious, I'm intrigued to see what it evolves to for gen X. I recheck for gen Z, how they interpret it when they officially take over, how does alpha take over, where do they go with it? And I think that's the beauty of it.
Eric:Don't you think Gen Z is starting to take over now?
Gil:No, not yet to a degree, but not yet. They don't have enough money. He had to. No,
Eric:But they're coming in numbers. You're seeing their attitudes, like starting to influence it. Oh yeah. Because of how open they are and how. Cool. With being open and fluid that they are, you're starting to see that translate and dictate a little bit of the roads, because we're like, yeah. Like we should be able to do that. Yeah.
Gil:Yeah, it is. Cause I like you're going an extra drink. Yes.
Eric:It's very young 20 it's you're young, 20 somethings that are gen Z
Gil:years. Yeah. That's the old IB I should say. But that's the more that's the beginning, half of the gen Z. They should be in their early twenties.
Eric:Yeah. I'm talking about your 18 to 23,
Gil:23. Yeah. But you just pretty much. Oh yeah. And it's great. It's definitely great. So
Eric:does that mean Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato who actually just came out as non-binary and got a mullet and Taylor swift and it actually looks really good on her. So they're millennials.
Gil:Technically okay. Cause they're in their thirties. Yeah. They're all with me. Yeah, because I think there's the oldest millennials. Like it should be 30 eat.
Eric:Okay.
Gil:Yeah. And then 23, it's 80, 80 to 96, 1980 to 1996, I think is the cutoff
Eric:1980 to 1996. Yeah. So the oldest one is going to be 41. Yeah.
Gil:41. Okay. There we go. 41. I'm like, oh, how much?
Eric:Because I literally just turned 42, so yeah. Cause
Gil:You're the last year of gen X and then I'm in the first half on millennial.
Eric:Okay. And I still think it's funny that everyone blames the millennials for everything. Even now they're like these damn millennials I'm like, these are
Gil:like for the COVID virus. I'm sure I've just accepted it
Eric:there. The gen Z years. These aren't the millennials.
Gil:We're all at the same up to them.
Eric:It's just the younger kids.
Gil:Oh Lord. Bless the boomers. Anyway, this is not an attack on older generations. We do appreciate you.
Eric:Yeah. Cause they, they paved the way they've felt them. Doors wood doors would not be open. Yeah,
Gil:exactly. Or just now adding the hinges.
Eric:Yeah. There would be no breadcrumbs for us to follow through.
Gil:Exactly. Exactly. Oh, it's always a fun thing.
Eric:So change the subject, and this is going to be like to me a more negative subject or topic, but we're going to go there anyways. Cause we're talking about representation. So in California, you guys have someone who I feel is one of the worst representatives of the community out there trying to run for governor.
Gil:God damn it. Oh,
Eric:how do we get it? So she cannot get on. That's good. I don't know if she will. It's funny to me though, because she stands for everything that's against the community in which she belongs. I think she's one of the worst representatives of the LGBT QIA, especially the T part of our community.
Gil:She is part of the diversity ignorance included. Fortunately, it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.
Eric:We could also have segwayed it through the fact that Kim Kardashians paid all that money. Cause they weren't related at one point.
Gil:But to me, the whole thing is a damn joke. They're trying, they're grasping for straws. I can't see him being recalled. Especially once the state starts booming back. No, they can still put there. They're still going to push it through it. I'm sure this is not even, even when it got Schwarzenegger that you're in over gray Davis, when they recall Davis back in the early two thousands, that was still okay. The cut where we were 20 years ago was different politically than it is now. Or Democrats hold, I believe 90% of the Senate seats within the state senators. Yeah. It's the states shifted drastically after Trump. Oh, good. I forgot to take Fresno county went blue and some of the more conservative counties, orange county went blue. So that's why I, it didn't, it went blue for the last election. Yes. Last election. It went blue. I am
Eric:like literally jaw
Gil:dropped. Yes. The, almost the entire county that it was San Diego was the only one who didn't go blue, but the almost entire GAM county went blue. Everything on the way it's coast. I didn't know.
Eric:San Diego was red.
Gil:Yeah. It's a huge military presence, but I don't know. It just can I say
Eric:one thing really quickly? Yeah. I never ever want to hear that party say they're the law, the pro law pro cop party after the fact that they just completely dissembled the whole January 6th commission. Okay. That's all I had to say. We'll move on. Yeah,
Gil:that's a, that's another, oh boy. They need to be dismantled.
Eric:The whole party needs to be dismantled. Just
Gil:dismantle them. It's ridiculous. It's a fucking joke. I can't believe it.
Eric:You have like people like Megan McCain, who on the view, who is talking about, who's trying to equate the squad with Marjorie Taylor green and saying they're just as bad as she is. And if she represents the Republican party, then the squad represents the democratic party. It's I am happy as hell to have AOC represent me.
Gil:I'll take it. What's the issue.
Eric:Yeah, exactly.
Gil:They need to get rid of, they need to get rid of the Republican party.
Eric:This is so offensive. Lauren, Boebert. Sorry, I don't, I didn't mean to go politics, but saying that her pronoun is Patriot.
Gil:So Patriot and cunt are the same thing. Apparently
Eric:you said it. Not me, but I did.
Gil:Oh gosh, it's Ridiculous
Eric:yeah. I saw that the other day. I was like, she didn't like, that is so offensive on so many levels. I was like, absolutely disgusted
Gil:it's people. I swear, but no with regards to Caitlyn Jenner, I just don't think she has a shot in hell. Okay. IBM. I'm going to go onto onto a limb here and say that, but I just don't think if that's what the Republican party is coming up to. I doubt it. I doubt that even the state Republicans wouldn't even allow her to really be it, be the representation for the party. when you had the big
Eric:tent party, it is, they have room for everybody and under their tents, unless they're going against Trump, then they don't.
Gil:Yeah. Yeah. I just don't foresee it. But then again, if it happens, we're going to vote her vote against her. She going down, that's her money. She'd spending
Eric:get her out of there, get her shit, get her shit and get out.
Gil:Cause she is trash. Yeah. But then I wonder if it becomes a race thing with her, she forgetting the T part, but she's also it's that. Male privilege that she did have once it is. I don't know. I don't know if that's playing into why she thinks she could do what you could do.
Eric:Yeah. She still has the white privilege and the privilege.
Gil:Yeah. I don't know. I just thought it was ridiculous when I heard it, I started laughing. I still keep laughing every time I hear it. Cause I just it's I want to get your retain it.
Eric:I actually wanted to get your point on it. Like ever since I heard that she was running and we were like, not podcasting at the moment. I was like, I need, so I needed to like, get your opinion. He
Gil:told him he had work and I was laughing. I just could not, I was like, this is ridiculous. But aren't you excited? I'm like
Eric:no, like that's my thing is like people like, oh, you ha you have someone in the community running for governor. Like she does not represent the community just because she's in the community. Quote unquote. Doesn't mean, she's a representative of it.
Gil:You have Susana Martinez, right? Who is running for, or was the governor? She's a Latina. It doesn't mean I voted for her. In fact, most of the Hispanic committee didn't vote for her.
Eric:And she had her pizza gate.
Gil:Oh God. At the bitch, his family was from they, they jumped the damn border illegally. She was against Mexican immigration. I don't understand. Her grandparents.
Eric:Let's see what happened with dude that was in the white house for four years. Who now was saying that they shouldn't be able to prosecute him because he was once the resident he's vehemently against immigration and chain, immigration. And that's how his wife and her family all got her family immigrant.
Gil:Oh gosh. hot mess. Yeah. But I was asked that and I started laughing. I'm sorry. No,
Eric:I've yeah. I've seen a lot of things and I'm like, no, she's not a representative of the community. She's the antithesis of what this community has meant to be.
Gil:Yeah. Yeah. It's it's a we welcome everyone ignorance at all, but I will. I agree
Eric:with you. I will say though, like I get bothered when people don't use her proper pronouns. Yeah. Cause that even though I don't like her, that's still very offensive.
Gil:She's a she. I don't understand. That's the way she is. That's fine. Whatever. She's, going from a Dick to a cunt, that's what she is now. My God, it's been my word today.
Eric:I know. You're it's like we switched mouths.
Gil:I know more potty mouth. I apologize to everyone. Three weeks off and way too relaxed.
Eric:He's just speaking his truth.
Gil:Everybody. I know I had strawberry lemonade. Apparently just getting me to hyper. Yeah. But no, I just no. We'll move on to another one.
Eric:So is the bay going to have any like cool pride events this year?
Gil:They, I keep hearing a lot of mixed stuff of something where they're reinventing how they're going to do pride. Cause they're trying to avoid the mega crowds, but I don't know what the hell that means. I hope it's not digital or completely digital, or are they going to try to do the parade? I don't know. I don't know.
Eric:Yeah. I don't know what they're doing out here either. Like I just got something the other day about some DJ pride event kind of thing. One of the breweries here. Okay. Cause they're trying to save the social clubs still. But I haven't heard and I know it's, I believe it's the,
Gil:you guys are early. Nobody love what the first weekend. Or second weekend. We're
Eric:usually like in the teens. Okay. So I guess maybe the second or third weekend, like the second weekend. And actually I think, okay. But I haven't heard anything as far as like actual events going on here, but like I said, the city is pretty much the state sold pretty much on lock down partially anyways.
Gil:Yeah. Because our state's supposed to open up. That's why I'm curious if they might ask the ideas and just go full force. Yeah. But I, I don't, I genuinely don't know
Eric:aren't some communities or some cities though, like moving their prides to like different months.
Gil:Correct. That's what I heard that this could be a few of them moving it just to spread it out.
Eric:So this is an off kind of off beat question. Do you think Folsom is going to happen this year?
Gil:I don't think so. I don't think so, but you know what it, cause
Eric:it's later it's in
Gil:September. No yet. And if they do maybe some on another street, they'll put it in another city.
Eric:I'm itching to go back to Folsom. Yeah. And this time I'm going to make you guys go with me. Oh, dear Lord. I know Chris would totally be down to go.
Gil:Oh, no, absolutely. But you won't go high follow. Yeah. I don't know that one. I could probably go double-check this evening. You and I
Eric:need to do a pride tour. One of
Gil:these days that'd be fun. Yeah. It would be fun. Toronto would be fun. New York would be entertaining. Yes. And
Eric:yes. I actually want to go to the salt lake city one.
Gil:I heard that it's a brilliant.
Eric:Good one I've heard it's huge. I had heard at one point that it was the largest in this country, but it's, I've come to find out that it's not, but it's definitely, I've heard. It's one of the bigger ones though. And it's a lot of fun, which is always interesting to me. Yeah, but then that's just me going through ignorance and stereotype myself.
Gil:But especially those kind of repressed communities, it's definitely going to be, if you're there, you're definitely gonna push a little bit harder to make sure that event's going to be known visible seen from outer space.
Eric:Yeah. We have to have Diana Ross blasting somehow, right?
Gil:It's I'm not going to lie. Like what I had fun campaigning in New Mexico because it's a pretty much a 50, 50 split. So you got to engage a lot more or you got the person opposing you to really oppose you versus in the bay. It's oh, I'm competing against another Democrat and we both are on the left and I'm standing further on the left. Yeah. If it gets, I don't know for me, I get bored because I'm like, okay, we both are on the same side or we're not arguing really against each other. We're now we're just nitpicky over a percent more, whatever,
Eric:it's your Sanders versus your Warren. Yeah.
Gil:It's does it, but I had fun with it. I think that's why I would like states like, or cities like salt lake. Of course it's going to be gigantic. You're having all the neighboring Wyoming's and the, Idaho's Montana is all coming fling to your area to make it that big epic party.
Eric:I think it'd be fun. I want to do the Phoenix one too.
Gil:That would be fun. Yeah, definitely. But I heard fun
Eric:Denver pride is fun too to Denver. Okay.
Gil:Yeah. We'll map it out. Send your suggestions.
Eric:Awesome. Actually, viewer viewers, listeners send us your suggestions on prides that we should attend.
Gil:Yeah, we should do it.
Eric:I want to give a quick shout out to all of our international listeners and subscribers. Yay. We have a lot of people from France and Russia. We have some from Sweden and Australia, and
Gil:it's a cool Italy.
Eric:Yeah. In Spain, it gets really cool that we have, we've reached an international market with our little meager podcast. Yay.
Gil:I must say huge. Shout out what I was in Spain, Chris and I were just completely floored on the liberalism about with the gay pride out there. It was just so nonchalant. Like I was like, am I back in the city? It Madrid and Barcelona. I was just. It just it's there. I don't know how to explain it. Like it was everywhere. It was like, oh, and there was not even a whimper or you'll have that passive aggressive. Oh, I brow raise.
Eric:That's awesome. I would love to go to that. I bet you Ibiza's fun too. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah. I really think I've ever heard about Spain is always been awesome. I think the only negative thing I've ever heard is that it's gets really hot in certain parts of it. It's just like Albuquerque. Yeah. But with much better architecture and prettier people.
Gil:Yeah. Oh, glad I went married. I guess
Eric:why he didn't want to be stretched. You want to be stretched. You didn't want to be like, made like that table over there and be sanded down.
Gil:Oh yes. But that's great. I'm so glad we have international listeners, but definitely you guys sent me any cool. Pride stuff.
Eric:Yeah. Yeah. And then also we should we'll have some swag new swag coming out on our website, new t-shirts and crop tops with some cute little pride logos. So
Gil:we joined the corporate and that's about it. Yay.
Eric:But ours
Gil:is cuter. It is cuter. It's going directly to two gay men. See?
Eric:Exactly. I just want to say thank you guys for tuning into listen to us chat. We will see you a few more times for the month of June and
Gil:the, a siesta in July and August.
Eric:Yes. Talk to you later. Thank you. Bye.
Gil:thank you for listening to us. We hope you enjoyed your time in The Q Lounge. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions on topics, or if you would like to be a guest or contributor, please email us info.TheQlounge@gmail.Com or through our contact page at theqloungepodcast.com. Don't forget to subscribe to continue listening wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to be our sugar, daddy hit that donation button.
Eric:Until next time live in your authenticity.
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