A blog about LGBTQ+ History, Art, Literature, Politics, Culture, and Whatever Else Comes to Mind. The Closet Professor is a fun (sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes very serious) approach to LGBTQ+ Culture.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Weakness
"I'm the best cook." "No one can beat my golfing record." "My child is an honor student." Each of these are strengths we proudly boast to one another. It is absurd to think about taking pride in our weaknesses. We are uncomfortable with weaknesses because recognizing them means we are not enough. Yet this attitude welcomes Christ into our lives so He can perfect our weakness and He can receive glory. What is one of your weaknesses? Invite Christ to have the power to work in you. Share your weakness with others and watch to see the power of Christ.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
Progress, Hopefully
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
How to Do It
By Joseph Gamble • March 19, 2019
As you’d expect, a 1922 edition of recommendations for sex education in high schools… from the US Treasury Department. (Archive.org)
My home state of Alabama is one of 7 states that stipulate that homosexuality cannot be discussed positively in sex education courses. Alabama Title 16. Education § 16-40A-2 (c) (8) mandates that sex ed courses include “an emphasis, in a factual manner and from a public health perspective, that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state.” Never mind the fact that the US Supreme Court’s 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision declared unconstitutional the sodomy law referenced in the statute, and never mind that the damage — both emotionally and physically — this statute does to queer youth clearly runs counter to the “public health perspective” it claims to support.
A still from a (wholly inadequate) 1960s American “sex ed” video. (Archive.org)
What the show understands is that people have sex lives — sex lives that aren’t just accumulations of scientific knowledge about reproduction or quantifications of how much sex one is or isn’t having, but complex and ever-changing relations to sex. And it understands that the sexual knowledge that undergirds those sex lives is not primarily transmitted from teacher to pupil, but from peer to peer. After all, John Cannon — the man from my opening anecdote — didn’t learn to masturbate from his school teacher, but from a boy in the class above him.
- Cannon, John, The Chronicles of John Cannon, Excise Officer and Writing Master, Part I: 1684-1733 (Somerset, Oxfordshire, Berkshire), ed. John Money (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 26.
- Mudge, Bradford K., ed. When Flesh Becomes Word: An Anthology of Early Eighteenth-Century Libertine Literature (Oxford University Press, 2004), 17.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
My Son Wants to Know Who His Biological Father Is
by Blas Falconer
his name. What does he look like? What does
he like? My son swims
four days a week. When my son swims
underwater, he glides
between strokes. When he glides underwater, he is
an arrow aimed
at a wall. Four days a week, his coach says,
Count—1…2…—before
coming up for air.
My father had blue eyes, blonde hair,
though mine are brown.
My father could not speak
Spanish and wondered, How can you love
another man? We rarely touched.
When my son
is counting, I count
with him. I say, I am
your father, too. 1…2…
—Blas Falconer
Monday, March 25, 2019
Ready, Set, Go!
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Unfading Beauty
We spend a lot of time focusing on our outward appearance such as perfecting our hairstyle, improving our physique, selecting the right clothes. In all, a lot of thought goes into creating just the right look. Do we spend the same amount of time cultivating our inner beauty? We know what inner beauty looks like...patience, generosity, peace-loving, fearless, and filled with a silent strength. Are we spending more time worrying about the color of our teeth instead of the kind of words that come out of our mouth? Ultimately our words are a reflection of our heart.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Friday, March 22, 2019
Reality TV
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Sex Education
Description
socially awkward high school student Otis may not have much experience in the lovemaking department, but he gets good guidance on the topic in his personal sex ed course -- living with mom Jean, who is a sex therapist. Being surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis has become a reluctant expert on the subject. When his classmates learn about his home life, Otis decides to use his insider knowledge to improve his status at school, so he teams with whip-smart bad girl Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their classmates' problems. But through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realizes that he may need some therapy of his own.Wednesday, March 20, 2019
The Orville
Vernal Equinox
The above picture is of a beautiful card a friend sent me for Spring and Easter. I wanted to share it with all of you.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
To Television
by Robert Pinsky
But as we call you,
A box a tube
Coffer of shades, ordained
Cotillion of phosphors
Or liquid crystal
Of acquiescence, vein of defiance.
Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes
Quick one, little thief, escort
Of the dying and comfort of the sick,
Snuggled in one chair watching you
Their wife and mother was sick in the head
I scorned you and them as I scorned so much
Maybe minutes
Before I have to face an audience: behind
The doors of the armoire, box
Within a box--Tom & Jerry, or also brilliant
And reassuring, Oprah Winfrey.
Sid Caesar speaking French and Japanese not
Through knowledge but imagination,
His quickness, and Thank You, I watched live
Jackie Robinson stealing
Fleeter than light like these words we
Remember in, they too winged
At the helmet and ankles.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Star Trek: Discovery
Sunday, March 17, 2019
What Becomes of the Broken-hearted
I have visions of many things
But happiness is just an illusion
Filled with sadness and confusion
What becomes of the broken-hearted
Who had love that's now departed?
I know I've got to find
Some kind of peace of mind
Maybe
But for me they come a-tumblin' down
Every day heartaches grow a little stronger
I can't stand this pain much longer
I walk in shadowsm searching for light
Cold and alone, no comfort in sight
Hoping and praying for someone to care
Always moving and goin' nowhere
What becomes of the broken-hearted
Who had love that's now departed?
I know I've got to find
Some kind of peace of mind
Help me
But someone look, there's a growing need
Oh, he is lost, there's no place for beginning
All that's left is an unhappy ending
Now, becomes of the broken-hearted
Who had love that's now departed?
I know I've got to find
Some kind of peace of mind
Just to find someone to care
I'll be looking everyday, I know I'm gonna find a way
Nothing's gonna stop me now
I'll find a way somehow
And I'll be searching everywhere
I know I gotta find a way
I'll be looking
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Friday, March 15, 2019
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Pretty Picture
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
March Evening
March Evening
by Amy Lowell, 1874 - 1925
Blue through the window burns the twilight;
Heavy, through trees, blows the warm south wind.
Glistening, against the chill, gray sky light,
Wet, black branches are barred and entwined.
Sodden and spongy, the scarce-green grass plot
Dents into pools where a foot has been.
Puddles lie spilt in the road a mass, not
Of water, but steel, with its cold, hard sheen.
Faint fades the fire on the hearth, its embers
Scattering wide at a stronger gust.
Above, the old weathercock groans, but remembers
Creaking, to turn, in its centuried rust.
Dying, forlorn, in dreary sorrow,
Wrapping the mists round her withering form,
Day sinks down; and in darkness to-morrow
Travails to birth in the womb of the storm.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Spring Break
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Before Daybreak
Are you feeling disconnected from God? Do you feel a void in your life? Maybe it's time you take some time out intentionally to spend time with God. Eliminate yourself from any interruptions and seek God in prayer. We should have private time with God even if we aren't feeling separated from Him in order to focus on God.