By now, you may have heard how a Twitter account tried to shame a young politician by leaking a BDSM video showing him frolicking with a dominatrix. If you have not, instead of reading the sex-shaming hyena laugh of the NY Post, which originally reported it, check out this story instead.
Here’s his Tweet response to what would have been a melt-down for most politicians.
This is a ground-breaker for us as a Community. When was the last time you heard a politician openly admit that he is kinky af? Perhaps Weiner felt that, with a video to prove it, he had little choice but to come out. Still, choosing to admit that he’s kinky to potential voters, treating it as a distraction from his politician activism (which it is), and not apologizing for it is a pretty important moment for all BDSMers. With this statement he’s saying “I am what I am and the hell with you if you can’t handle it.”
Imagine if all of us felt empowered to shrug if the world found out our sexual secrets! Imagine if all the fetishists and all the kinky people and all other sexually unconventional people stood up to the sex-bullies and said, “Yep, I did that, and I’m not ashamed of it because THERE IS NO REASON TO BE ASHAMED.”
I would like you to imagine that. I would like you to think about Zach Weiner’s predicament and ask yourself how you would deal with it if you were outed. Then I’d like you to think about why you are really hiding your identity. Is it because you care so much what others think? Or is it because you think owning it makes you have to deal with the reality of you who are?
Humans all pay a toll for living with shame about their true sex or gender identity. You can’t stop your authentic identity from existing: it’s part of you. But you can put an end to the shame.
