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felice picano was interesting, to say in the least. like i said in class today, there were times when he seemed to brag a little, but once you managed to look past that, you could tell that there was a lot he had been through and a lot he had seen - and that information, those stories were what caught my interest.

some of the things he said and ideas he put across intrigued me, so i think im going to list them down here.

- 'i decided to protest against everything - and coming out was a part of that process' ------ is coming out a response to something? like a protest? i feel like it doesnt have to be/shouldnt be a statement you make to prove something to the world. i always imagined it to be more like a personal thing. making a statement for yourself. to give yourself that solidity. that assurance.

- his concept of sexual activity not falling into sexual identificationl. you could do what you wanted, have sex with whoever you wanted and it didnt have to label your sexual orientation. what struck me about this is that it was the way things were before we tried to make them more 'liberal' - before we came in with our banners and boxes and flags. we fought for gay rights, and by doing so, we made apparent that if you have sex with a person of the same gender, youre gay. and that made people stop and think. that brought in the limitations.

- he spoke about gender and sexuality at a 'social level, physical level and psychological level' and how an individual can be 'heterosexual and homosocialble' whilst another can be 'homosexual and psycho - something' and how we can then (by scaling these categories) decide whos compatible with whom. ----- the entire concept seems ridiculous to me. all the categories. and they just seem to complicate things. and define nothing. are we constructing more walls whilst we try to include everything and everyone into every category?

one concept that i loved was his idea that 'coming out' is a process. and people are coming out/chosing to stay hidden everyday. not just from their sexuality but from different identities of theirs - be it the artist in them, the poet etc' we all have multiple closests that we live in and come out of, everyday.

another idea of his that struck me was that you need to identify yourself. you know what you are. identity is meant for other people. im glad i caught the last second of class and asked him whatever i did that promted this answer, because im still thinking about it. im not sure where i stand on it though, so i wont post the random mess in my mind that pops up when i think about it.

oh well/