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From: rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: effeminate gay role models
Message-ID: <1736@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 6-Mar-86 12:25:25 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.1736
Posted: Thu Mar  6 12:25:25 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Mar-86 23:39:26 EST
References: <1521@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 20

For my 2 cents worth, let me repeat a good piece of advice someone
gave to me years ago, when I was piqued by nonconformity (which
seems to be the underlying issue here):  in deciding whether to
do something, he said, "What does it matter what others think?
If you had to consult other people for their approval before
acting, you wouldn't have done any of the interesting or worth-
while things you've done in your life, would you?"  Posed this way,
I realized the answer was clearly yes, at least for me.  

Of course there are some things where the approval, or at least
the reaction, of others is crucial.  But they're easily recognized
and limited.  Approval matters for your job, not because of "pro-
fessionalism" or any other popular fiction, but because that's
where your income ($$) comes from.  Reaction matters, eg, in situations
involving violent homophobes.  But that's about it.  The rest of your
life can be pretty free-form, if you can tolerate occasional flac.


					Regards,
					Ron Rizzo