Straight Was Math, Queer Is Art

When I knew myself as straight, life seemed logical and uncomplicated. Now, there are so many unknowns.

Kristen Pizzo
Human Parts

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Photo: Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images

PPeople who like math say they find it comforting because everything makes sense. There is a right and wrong answer and a way to get there. There’s almost always an explanation of why something is what it is.

In the arts, there are no real wrong answers. And you don’t always know how to explain why something is “right” or why it just “works.” Sometimes it’s just a feeling, not founded in reason or logic or anything concrete.

That can make some people feel uncomfortable and lost. For me, it’s where I feel at home.

A clear definition of my sexuality isn’t easy to pinpoint. Sometimes it boils down to inexplicable forces. Like when I look at her and I just know it feels right, but I don’t know exactly why I know. There’s no geometric, mathematical evidence that will have me breathing a sigh of relief and exclaiming, “Ah, yes, this is why this love makes sense.”

Sometimes, I feel like I will never be “queer” enough, that I don’t belong in the community. I know this is both due to my own preconceived notions about how I should express my sexuality — and due to bisexual erasure and biphobia, two issues within the LGBTQ+…

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