By Laurie Wolfe
Being bisexual is inextricably linked with my creativity, my art. And my art has benefited and flourished from being bisexual. Bilicious was a gift in that regard. In turn, Bilicious gifted me with a muse, that creative flow that comes when I write, which I gratefully call my Muse. I was also helped by inheriting my family’s sense of humor, and by developing a clear sense of storytelling, which was shaped through a decade plus of speaking gigs with SpeakOUT, Boston’s LGBTQIA speakers bureau. But that muse is something else.
For me, art is born out of sharing something deeply personal. It can be something that you sense is unique, or something that is shared by many but is unique in the way it manifests in your life, in your perception. We are all different; we are all human. It is the human element that I portray in my stories and poems, whether it’s about my experience of gender, attraction, desire for parental approval from parents long gone, or desire in and of itself amidst the social and political landscape and the landscape of my body. These are where I set loose my artist’s gaze and examine my feelings, subject to the play of word and wonder, and humor and heart. It always helps that I do this with an eye to hold and enlighten others in my experience.
I am a part of humanity, and it is sacred duty to open my life up to help others to relate better to their own selves. Like when I looked at what it felt like the first time I shaved my chest hair. How others responded to a part of me I couldn’t relate to. How I related to it and how it ultimately impacted me (objectified by some, fun to flip up and down for me, and a tense yet disturbing rite of passage to selfhood and wonder). Or when (and why) I decided I was actually a lesbian, and life hit me over the head with an intense attraction that floored me and sent me reeling, revealing the choice of convenience was not mine to make. Not that it isn’t the right one for you, whether you’re bi like me, now, sometimes, or never. Ultimately, it’s the journey that is remarkable, and the hearts and minds we touch along the way. And, when the muse sends you something, your blessings are magnified.
Laurie Wolfe was one of the featured performers in Bilicious Boston for four years.