Ghetto Swirl
May 19, 2016 11:42 AM Subscribe
How street kids in the Bronx taught me it’s OK to be biracial and gay - As a “nerdy, Mexican, gay, Mormon child of the ’80s and ’90s,” cartoonist Terry Blas had trouble figuring out his identity… until an experience in New York taught him a valuable lesson.
Terry Blas's Briar Hollow comic.
Terry Blas's Briar Hollow comic.
That is wonderful! And if Blas doesn't have a tattoo of that "Ghetto Swirl" graphic with the unicorns and the soft serve, he should really think about it. (Or at least make some t-shirts.)
posted by xingcat at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
That is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. OMG, kids can be so great.
posted by Frowner at 11:59 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Frowner at 11:59 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
If I'd had something remotely like this to give me encouragement (not even the kids on the street corner, just the comic, or something like it!) when I was coming up -- as a nerdy, part-Mexican gay son of a lapsed Mormon myself -- I'd have saved myself years and years of heartbreak, depression, misery, and near-suicide. So glad that this kind of life-affirming material is available now for kids coming up if they know how to find it.
posted by blucevalo at 12:04 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by blucevalo at 12:04 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
awesome. made my day.
posted by andrewcooke at 12:05 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by andrewcooke at 12:05 PM on May 19, 2016
Heh. If he did a comic series about his imagined version of Shelly and Junior's adult lives, I'd totally read it!
posted by Zed at 12:06 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Zed at 12:06 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
So someone in the Mormon hierarchy decided to send the obviously gay, biracial kid to New York city for his missionary year. Hmmm...
posted by rdr at 12:13 PM on May 19, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by rdr at 12:13 PM on May 19, 2016 [12 favorites]
rdr - weirdly, that exact same thing happened to my gay biracial family member. he now lives in nyc w/ his fiance and their dog and is a comic artist. i actually had to check to make sure he's not using an alias for some of his work.
posted by nadawi at 12:21 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 12:21 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
This is so great! I sent the link to the ex-mormon list, there are many gay and bi-racial folks there who will really appreciate it.
posted by mermayd at 12:37 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mermayd at 12:37 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh gosh, I've got to send this to one of my nephews --- the kid is gay, black, adopted (with white parents), Mormon and a ballet dancer; at least he's being raised in Massachusetts which has to be somewhat easier than Idaho was or is.
Thanks, Terry Blas.
posted by easily confused at 1:08 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks, Terry Blas.
posted by easily confused at 1:08 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm half Mexican and gay and this made me tear up. I love it!
posted by MoxieProxy at 1:13 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by MoxieProxy at 1:13 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Good stuff. The author made several comments in the thread on /r/exmormon.
posted by exogenous at 1:46 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by exogenous at 1:46 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Link to another comic by him: You Say Latino
posted by jillithd at 1:59 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jillithd at 1:59 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is terrific; I just sent it to my brother. Thanks for the post!
posted by languagehat at 2:29 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by languagehat at 2:29 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ghetto Swirl needs to get right to work on a much longer comic.
posted by Twang at 2:45 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by Twang at 2:45 PM on May 19, 2016
Hearing you're the best of both worlds had to have been the most volcanically wonderful moment. And seconding Twang on the comic. Kids don't ever get tired of knowing what they are is a good thing.
posted by datawrangler at 3:55 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by datawrangler at 3:55 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Do white people in the USA really not speak Spanish? Did Dora teach them nothing?!
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:08 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:08 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I did a year in AmeriCorps in the Bronx, and this resonates with me so hard. I think every white American like me should come to New York and have to live and work somewhere where they are exposed to the ideas that 1) it's OK to talk openly about race and 2) everyone puts their own spin on what they're born with, and that's something to be celebrated.
posted by gusandrews at 5:46 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by gusandrews at 5:46 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh my goodness, I just want to hug everyone right now! Affirmation is so important.
posted by epj at 2:38 PM on May 21, 2016
posted by epj at 2:38 PM on May 21, 2016
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posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:57 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]