One thing I miss about the OG blogging
days, especially as a queer person, was how we used to write without
performance. No branding. No monetizing. No content creation. Just raw,
unfiltered life. We'd write 500 words about locking eyes with someone across
the room and wondering if they were family. Or the magic of hearing a song that
made us feel seen for the first time. And somehow, people found it. They read
it, felt it, said, “me too,” and we all kept going.
There was
something sacred in that. We weren’t trying to go viral. We weren’t trying to
survive the algorithm. We were just trying to be seen. To feel less alone. And
it worked.
I miss that
time. Before queerness became aesthetic. Before every post had to be a
political statement or a perfectly lit photo. When blogging was therapy. When
being gay online didn’t mean you had to represent every letter of the alphabet
every time you spoke.
Now it feels
like we’re always performing. For approval. For reach. For safety. But I want
to go back to that freedom. To those moments where I could lay my feelings down
somewhere in the ether and walk away, knowing I’d carved out a tiny space where
I existed fully, freely, and without apology.
Maybe this
Pride Month, we reclaim that.
We write again. Not to explain. Not to defend. Not to go viral.
Just to be.
🏳️🌈💭
I felt every word! Yes I understand exactly what you are saying. And yes Blogging is very much therapeutic to me. But I would be lying if I said there's not any performance to it as well. As an artist, It is important for me to present my blog in a way that is creative . Hell even when I have my video clips and pictures there is some form of being "on" for the camera. As far as the algorithm, Fuck the algorithm ! That is the decline of all mental health. I know. I been there before. Now I know how to express myself and give a piece of who I am without losing myself in the numbers or pitching a sale of my content. There are still some of us out there! This blog entry is LOOOOONG overdue. I'm glad you said that part out loud for the blogosphere. And keep doing what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteHowdy! I found you from a link on Mark's blog. Like he says - there are definitely some of us still out there.
ReplyDeleteWhat I miss the most, is LiveJournal - there was a community of people with related interests, and everybody had a viewpoint. But the main thing, is that pretty much all of us (or at least the people I followed and connected with) were writing at length; detailed and considered, long thoughtful paragraphs about what we felt and what things meant to us.
I've added you to my reading list, and look forward to reading more of your thoughts!
Saw this from Mark too. I said this on his post also but the worst part is people have sacrificed all the fun and expression for nothing. That branding, that monetization, almost none of it ever pans out. So much lost, nothing gained.
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled onto your on point comment......so true. There is a value to words meant for expression without the expectation of a nodding chorus.
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