Joseph Zambrano | Vaquero Radio
There is a particular image of what a man should be–what they should look like, sound like, even think like–ingrained into the minds of our population. A man should be strong, rough and formal in their style.
Always focused on their self-perception but never on the feelings of others. This image is founded on the idea of the “traditional man,” the religious, fictitious and historical figures who have been the basis of many triumphant tales and held on a pedestal as the only real winners of life.
The idea is stifling yet proud, full of disrespect and disregard for anyone but the men who fit that narrow point of view. If you do not fit this profile, you should be ashamed. There is something wrong with you.
This is an image I’ve personally defied for years, experiencing firsthand some of that pushback, words of despise, belittlement and hate.
Words engraved into my head that whisper to me whenever I want to love how I look, sound and think–to love myself. To my knowledge, I have done no harm to others to warrant such words; my existence seems to be enough to threaten their worldview.
They want me dead. I want to be beautiful.
Wearing skirts, crop tops, makeup and acrylic nails make my day. Having long hair and long lashes make me turn and smile into the mirror on occasion, and I’m not alone.
Communities of hundreds of thousands of people who feel joy from this experience, who face similar opposition, are out there and fighting for their freedom. For how many people hate us, many more openly support us and help us be ourselves despite it all.
Every time I have to hear “it’s not right,” see people online rampantly proclaim “it’s not natural,” I feel more than heartbroken; I feel pain.
It reminds me of the constant oppression people like me all over the world experience, from brutality to disownment. All because we feel we should look different.
I have a simple message for those who feel this way, too: If the conditions are right and if there’s no doubt in your mind that society’s formalities are not for you, find ways to pursue what your heart tells you.
You might just feel a smile creep onto your face, crawling up from the deepest depths of your heart, a smile once drowned by resentment and resilience now bubbling to the surface. That smile will be the most beautiful part of your beginning.
And if there is doubt in your mind, there is never harm in experiencing the diversity and splendor change has to offer, even if just out of curiosity.
There is so much to see and feel in our world. It seems senseless to limit freedom behind societal expectations.
When you let yourself be you, others will notice and others will be inspired. I like to think that a world where we can accept differences for the beauty they hold is a world that only breeds kindness.
