Unfortunately, As Homosexuals, We Are Often Bombarded with Diverse, Controversial Attacks
Martinez, Servando
February 2015
Unfortunately, as homosexuals, we are often bombarded with diverse, controversial attacks. Many of these attacks convey a plethora of confrontational insults and discriminatory intentions. We are depicted as unnatural, sacrilegious and even disease-ridden. Nevertheless, we have been able to transform these attacks into something breathtakingly beautiful, similar to the concept of Pink Ink.
The concept of Pink Ink is known as transforming scar tissue on ones’ chest, post-mastectomy, with intricate and colorful tattoos. This concept is considered a source of power and transformation, which is similar to what the LGBT Community is currently doing in society. The LGBT community has proven time and time again to provide motivation and strength to those affected by society’s preconceived perception of our community. The LGBT community is concurrently transforming the ideals of the social norm and spreading awareness of the concept of acceptance across the nation. In retrospect, the LGBT community has transformed society’s stereotypical perspective throughout the previous generations. Similarly, the female body is striving to be viewed as beautiful and powerful, rather than from a misogynistic point of view. This idea combines the two issues, ensuring a similar idea.
More so, the option of creating something unique and breathtaking from tragedy and scars represents and symbolizes rebirth and replenishment. The LGBT community has begun to be reborn and trigger a type of lotus affect emphasizing the everlasting change in the nation. We continue to synthesize a new aspect of the LGBT community. We continue to find new means of survival and beauty in inconsistency and diversity. The ink of a tattoo symbolizes more than a simple imprint of permanence. It portrays the acceptance of a specific trial or tribulation that has influenced one’s life. This concept is relevant and somewhat similar to what homosexuals come to face. Unfortunately, breast cancer and homophobia result in death for those involved. This emphasizes the importance and significance in survival. The pain of receiving a tattoo is minimal compared to the pain breast cancer survivors and homosexuals have to endure throughout their lives.
Furthermore, the lotus flower provides a harmonious metaphor for the chaos an individual must endure because a lotus is not able to grow and prosper in pure, clean water, but rather in environments with muddy water. Coincidentally, the lotus flower symbolizes rebirth. The concept of pink ink is also similar to homosexuality, due to the fact that it is, in fact, the road less traveled by. Many breast cancer survivors choose not to augment their skin after surgery or to get reconstructive surgery. A select few choose to commemorate their survival with tattoos. Likewise, homosexuals often must traverse on a different pathway than others due to intolerance and other personal experiences. Nevertheless, both parties offer insight into the ability to make good out of a bad situation. The idea that both parties are able to achieve tranquility from tragedy provides a new perspective on how far the LGBT/Cancer survivor communities have come. They both genuinely follow a diverse code of equality and acceptance which further proves the statement that “It is not the destination, but the journey”, which was declared by both feminist activist, Andrea Cornwall and LGBT activist, Greg Harris. Nevertheless, both parties have conveyed that their journeys represent much more than equality. They represent the rehabilitation of society and the continuous effort to rejuvenate the concept of acceptance. They intertwine to form a serene, ever-growing polymerization of strength and empowerment. The journey is everlasting with new destinations rising from the horizons every day.