It\u00a0can be quite difficult to describe what it feels like to be\u00a0a member of a group that is widely disparaged or hated. I mean really describe it in a way that other people who are not part of that group can understand. It is powerful when it can be done and even more powerful when it is done in a way such that members of other groups, who are disparaged or hated for other reasons, can see themselves in the story.<\/p>\n
I think this is accomplished in the 10 minute monologue below.\u00a0The speech is by Rory O’Neill,\u00a0a famous Irish drag queen who goes by the name Panti Bliss. She speaks of what it feels like to encounter homophobia — indeed, to have internalized homophobia — and to try to manage life with an identity that some people openly disparage and hate.<\/p>\n
She does such a wonderful job describing it, that I suspect that the feelings that she talks about might be familiar to\u00a0a wide audience: women, people of color, people with disabilities, the homeless and the poor, people who speak English as a second language, and more.<\/p>\n