Reluctant Renaissance Man

Adam Lambert is a great singer and performer.  He also happens to be gay.  The media keeps referring to Adam as, openly gay singer, Adam Lambert.  I can almost see him cringe when it's mentioned again and again, and I'm not sure I've ever seen an interview where his sexuality wasn't mentioned.  Interesting how other celebrities aren't described by their sexuality first and what they do second.

Actually, the odds are stacked against his success because he is gay and I suspect that had a little bit to do with the fact  that Adam was not a recording artist before he appeared on Idol.  He had what it takes, truly great talent and amazing presence and charisma along with being drop-dead gorgeous.  The fact is, gay men do not receive the same opportunities as straight men in U.S. society, and Hollywood especially seems to encourage the closet.  There are a lot of hypocrites in Hollywood if you consider how many men who happen to be gay run things.

Change is in the air though and Adam's a big part of it whether he wants to be or not.  He keeps stating that he isn't political and that he's a singer not an activist.  I believe him but the thing is, he's changing things just by being himself and it's a joy to behold.  Adam's the poster boy for all things gay, for admitting to and being proud of his feminine and masculine sides.  We all have them but most people don't want to think about it, particularly straight men.

The AMA mess was, I'm afraid, something necessary to go through.  I never dreamed that the simple idea of a man kissing another man would be so, well, shocking to so many people.  It's as if nothing had changed in the last fifty years, as if a gay man was the devil himself.  And think of the children.  Funny, I think the children are a lot better than most so-called adults at figuring out what's important.  I think there's way more parents screwing up their children than Adam Lambert ever could.  Too many parents are either too tired or aren't around enough to have a clue what their children are thinking or are exposed to.

I loved Adam even more for being unapologetic for his performance, for being a proud man who did nothing wrong.  The double standard is glaring and ridiculous, and, well, I guess people really need to get used to seeing more of men interacting together and I don't mean playing football.  It's about time.  I also love Tommy for having no problem going along with it and for being unashamed.  It shows that a few straight men get it.

There's a lot more involved in this issue but the point for this essay is that Adam has already changed the way many people look at and think of gay men.  I'm talking about people who simply have never known anyone gay and who've never ever thought about the subject of gay civil rights.  Hearts and minds are not won easily but Adam's already changed a lot of minds.  He's shaken people up, awakened people, showed them that it doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is.  All that matters is if you're talented.  It's even better with Adam, because he's truly nice too.

I'll be accused of being insane, whatever, but I don't care, because I think that Adam is a very old soul, more enlightened than most people.  He's been evolving for a long time and this time around he's the guy that can actually change the world.  Adam knows what's important and that could be a lesson to all of us.  Peace, love, harmony, acceptance irregardless of one's status, station in life, talents, gender, age, or orientation is what matters as is treating other people well.  Adam gets it and from what I can see he's enjoying his journey immensely and that makes me happy.

Adam and Me

Okay, so I'll 'fess up and say that I am a "fan" of Adam Lambert.  There are many synonyms for a fan.  Some of them are: addict, adherent, admirer, aficionado, devotee, follower, freak, groupie, habitue, lover, rooter, supporter and zealot.  A fan may also be a person who is enthusiastic about an interest, in this case the interest being Adam Lambert.

That's a whole lot of definition and encompasses the levels of "enthusiasm" from admirer to zealot.  I'm not sure where to put myself within these definitions.  I certainly admire Adam and, yes, I am definitely an aficionado, and perhaps a freak.  While I might say that Adam is my boyfriend, well, because he is, I can surely say I am not his lover nor is he mine.  Sigh.

The man has commanded my attention for more than a year and there is no sign that this will end soon, hopefully not ever.  I have learned a lot over that year, I have acquired new skills, have set new goals which I work hard on.  There are things I want to achieve.  I am what is now referred to as an "old."  And yet I look forward to my future.  Nothing is over until it's over so you might as well do something fun.

The reason for this is not that Adam Lambert made me do it.  The reason is I am making me do it but that's because getting to know Adam has struck a chord in me, made me remember when life was simpler, dreams were big, and when, frankly, life was much more fun.  He is that kind of person.  Someone very rare who simply inspires just by being himself.  Adam is a hero of a sort.  Rock stars aren't usually thought of as heros but I think that Adam is.

A hero is defined as someone who is a brave person.  Adam is one of the bravest people I've ever come across and for a variety of reasons.  He seems unafraid to simply be who he is and is amazingly unpretentious.  I have no doubt there's an ego in there, probably a nice sized one, but he seems humble, grateful even for his opportunities in life and I'll bet he thanks all the gods and goddesses for the beautiful gift of an exceptional singing voice.  He's still very young yet seems very grounded.  Above all he is nice and I mean that nicely.  He's much nicer than I am.  I believe this is real as I've never heard a bad word said about him by anyone.  That is no one.  Everyone who speaks of him says that he's a great guy and I believe them, all of them.

Adam is a freak of nature in many ways.  He's enthusiastically and firmly upbeat.  I think about that a lot.  It is nice to be nice and perhaps that's the way it's all supposed to be.  Envision what you want, believe that you can do it, and you can.  I think it's one of the lessons.  Practicing that is not always easy, but trying is a good thing.  Adam is also freakishly beautiful, outside and in.  I know he doesn't think he's physically beautiful, but he is.  What he doesn't see that I and so many others do is the way the beauty inside shines through to the outside, in that big smile, the happy eyes, the laugh.  The laugh always makes my day.

Briefly then, that is a summary of my Adam love.  As I said, I've learned a lot about things that had never occurred to me before, things like fandoms, and fan forums, twittering, the effect of the internet on polite society and on how people view the objects of their desire.  I've learned about nice people, and not nice people, over the top people and those who are clearly insane.  I never knew that fan fiction existed and now I write it.  It's amazing to me that I've wanted to write fiction my whole life and now I'm finally practicing it, and I love it.  So far I'm not great, but it gets better and I'll keep trying.

I'll be blogging a lot because I have a lot to say about all of this.  It's all been cooking in the back of my mind for the last year and I think I'm finally ready to say a few things.  I like comments too and to start I'm going to leave it open.  But, if the haters want to jump in and just hate without saying anything constructive then I'll close it down and moderate comments.  Don't want to but one of the things I've learned is that haters are everywhere.  You don't have to adore Adam Lambert, that's okay with me, but please say what you want to respectfully.