UnFairy

[Just got around to reading the (insert superlative adjective here) Margaret Cho's Jan. 23 blog entry about sometimes wanting to be white. Of course it's not the first time someone's tackled this (or similar stuff, like whether "cures" for human variations like homosexuality or deafness, if possible, are desirable), but it's always fun to take another spin.]

[Margaret's main idea is it's not the burden of being Asian (and bisexual, though she doesn't outright mention that in this post) that she'd like to put down for a while; it's the fight she's tired of, and I understand that. I can't really know what it's like not to be white, but I do think the parallels with being gay are closer than many race-based civil rights activists have been willing to acknowledge.]

[In any event, I wouldn't accept a theoretical UnFairy Godmother's offer to make me straight, even for a little while. I'm friendly with plenty of straight men, but I value the different point of view that being gay has given me, and wouldn't give it up. It's forced me to see other things from different points of view, to try to get out of myself for a while.]

[However, the feeling of constantly being under siege (much less in San Francisco, of course) does get tired, and sure, I'd like it to go away. The question is, would I accept the offer to be nonwhite, or female, or really poor with no reasonable expectation of change, just so I could see what's it's like?]

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