A wise man decked in six inch heels and an even taller, closer to God wig once said, “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.” Another wise man – who has terrified audiences with stories about a telekinesis teen, a rabid dog, and a killer clown – said, “we make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” Both of these quotes – and many more by these two inspiringly, prolific authors – serve as the intersectional basis for Midnight Social Distortion, where my love for horror, sci-fi, and gay blerdom collide.
When I crafted Midnight Social Distortion, I initially felt that there was nothing else to say about horror, black horror, gay horror, black queer representation in horror and sci-fi, etc. Or rather there was nothing else that I could offer to the growing, yet firmly guarded world of (black) horror/sci-fi academia. All bases were/are covered from other blogs, books, magazines, social media accounts, and podcasts galore. So what could I possibly add to this respectable field that hasn’t already been unearthed, documented, or stated?
Then I noticed that the answer was right in front of me the entire time: my voice. My unique voice.
It took a while for the right stars to align for me to not only see that truth, but to also garner the courage to even move forward with my own take on why POC faces are needed now more than ever in the horror/sci-if genres. Why speculative fiction by POC is becoming more accessible and celebrated outside small pockets of fandom. And why the rise of gay narratives in both areas needs a place to call home. Recent events (such as the blatantly racial and homophobic attack on black gay actor Jussie Smollett) have given me the resolve to relaunch Midnight Social Distortion as a means to showcase, curate, and promote my knowledge of horror, sci-fi, and pop culture from a black gay man’s lens, and to also showcase the works of all LGBT peoples, horror or otherwise, as well.
So on one end, horror is ‘my drag.’ I use it to break out of my usually hardcore introverted shell and to mock/dissect the absurdities of today’s society. I approach and use my love for horror in the same manner that RuPaul uses drag to conquer the world, and I’m forever grateful for his guidance. And at the same time I indulge in horror, created by others or my very own, to cope with the reality that is 2019 America, and the global community as a whole; something Stephen King knows how to paint grotesquely, and Octavia Butler conjures vividly.
And that is why we are here today. Again. To celebrate the seemingly not, but blatantly obvious intersectional connection between horror, LGBTQ, blackness, and all things Other and their constant battle to cut the bullshit and drag our society across the coals.
Welcome my world.
Welcome to Midnight Social Distortion.