Artist IO Tillett Wright Finds Passion and Purpose in Fifty Shades of Gay

Artist and Photographer IO Tillett Wright found her passion and purpose in life through a personal struggle with her identity while growing up in New York City. In a video for Ted Talks, entitled Fifty Shades of Gay, Wright explains;

“If this was a war with two disparate sides, I, by default, fell on team gay, because I certainly wasn't 100 percent straight. At the time I was just beginning to emerge from this eight-year personal identity crisis zigzag that saw me go from being a boy to being this awkward girl that looked like a boy in girl's clothes to the opposite extreme of this super skimpy, over-compensating, boy-chasing girly-girl to finally just a hesitant exploration of what I actually was, a tomboyish girl who liked both boys and girls depending on the person.”

IO asked hundreds of people she met along the way to quantify themselves on a scale of one to 100 percent gay. What she found was many were just like her…somewhere in between.

This begs the question, if so many are not completely straight or completely gay, where do you draw the line when it comes to discrimination?

Watch the full video with IO Tillett Wright below;

Wright says, “I loved these people, and I admired their freedom, but I watched as the world outside of our utopian bubble exploded into these raging debates where pundits started likening our love to bestiality on national television. And this powerful awareness rolled in over me that I was a minority, and in my own home country, based on one facet of my character. I was legally and indisputably a second-class citizen.

I was not an activist. I wave no flags in my own life. But I was plagued by this question: How could anyone vote to strip the rights of the vast variety of people that I knew based on one element of their character? How could they say that we as a group were not deserving of equal rights as somebody else?

And then it occurred to me, perhaps if they could look into the eyes of the people that they were casting into second-class citizenship it might make it harder for them to do. It might give them pause.”

IO has since photographed over 2000 people who fall somewhere on the spectrum between gay and straight.

“I had spent a year photographing this new generation of girls, much like myself, who fell kind of between-the-lines -- girls who skateboarded but did it in lacy underwear, girls who had boys' haircuts but wore girly nail polish, girls who had eye shadow to match their scraped knees, girls who liked girls and boys who all liked boys and girls who all hated being boxed in to anything.”

IO’s photographs can be viewed at Self Evident Truths. 

Wright's ultimate goal: 10,000 portraits and a nationwide rethinking of discriminatory laws.

Whether you agree or disagree with IO’s cause, Ms. Wright has found passion and purpose through an issue that was personal and important to her. She uses her talent and passion for art and photography to portray this group of people that “fall in between the lines” and combines it with her passion for equality for all, giving IO’s life purpose and meaning.

I applaud IO Tillett Wright’s passion, talent and purpose. As a conservative, I believe in personal liberty for all and abhor discrimination is any form and against any group of people. Admittedly and unfortunately, this is a minority view within the conservative community, but to my way of thinking it is the only consistent and responsible position for conservatives to take. 

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator Ron Portman are shining examples of taking a consistent position of personal liberty for all. They did so after personal experiences with a gay family member, but it should not have to come to that. Conservatives should stand for personal liberty for all and despise discrimination in any form against any group of people, regardless of lifestyle.

For more on passion, purpose and finding your profitable passion, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB