In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Tuesday (this one’s a bit late) I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicles, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.) Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
Change is a hard thing to accept, especially when you’re used to something. And you don’t have to be a parent like Jamie Lee Curtis to understand that. When we’re used to something, it’s hard to break out of the habits that are so ingrained in us like what name someone is called, what pronouns they use, and the way they dress. And the older we get, the harder it becomes to grow past our own limitations and accept the new in our lives. That’s why Jamie Lee Curtis and her daughter speaking about Ruby’s coming-out is so important.
For Ruby, it’s a monumental moment that will define her life. She is being her most honest self, living the life she’s always wanted to, without the limitations her body or her past has put upon her. It’s liberation in its finest form that will allow her to blossom and shape the world around her in the way that she wants. And to have the support of her mother on such a public platform must be the ultimate declaration of love from someone she looks up to and who has helped her become the woman she is today.
For Jamie, talking about Ruby coming out on a worldwide platform like People, means letting everyone know that she supports the transgender and LGBTQ community. She is there for the changes that come when those in the community open themselves up and speak their truth, and she is there to learn alongside her daughter about what this new journey in their life is all about. Jamie is also there as a beacon of hope to those who are maybe going through the same things she did when Ruby came out to her, and that matters to because, again, change is hard and sometimes we need someone to look up to when that change hits.
And just to be clear, this isn’t us praising the straight white woman for doing the bare minimum. This is us saying that coming out and speaking about her journey with her daughter Ruby matters to those who need a little perspective or are going through the same thing. Because if we learn from those around us and those we look up to in the media we consume, then others do as well. And it matters that this person, this celebrity, is opening up about being new at this, how she’s going to make mistakes, but that she’s willing to go on this journey because she loves her daughter.
It also ties back to what we said in the intro of this post as well. Change is hard and it gets harder the older we are. But here is this icon, this person who probably is like the rest of us and knows how hard change is the older we get, admitting that while change is hard, it is absolutely possible. That’s hope right there, not only for loved ones who are transitioning or coming out at this moment, but for those that are trying to support their loved ones as best as possible. Because we’re all learning, we’re all growing, and admitting that and opening up ourselves to endless growth just makes for a better world.
Queerly Not Straight posts every Tuesday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)
