Is it just me or do we all know a male who seems to be living in a perpetual state of scrutiny?
maybe it’s us right now?
as we navigate the high-stakes forest of corporate life,
or even if we are in entertainment or sports,
the whispers begin the moment we start to climb the ladder.
“Is he married?”
“Does he have kids?”
“I don’t see him talking about anyone special…”
once those whispers gain volume,
especially if we are hiding who we are inside,
we will do anything to lower them.
we duck for cover with “the ugly“,
“the desperate“,
or some black males get with “the white” to keep a low profile.
in all of those spaces,
it’s better optics to have a vixen on your arm around your straight (or white) peers.
even in our families,
among our friends,
at church,
or in the neighborhood,
if you’re a guy without that “basic” life…
Running a household with the trophy partner,
the kids,
and the dog named Rover,
those whispers become hard to ignore.
when we play the roles of the “pussy slayer”,
the “uncontrollable breeder”,
or the “one with the beard” to silence the chatter…
…the whispers fade.
hell,
it might even vanish completely.
we all know the forest that shannon sharpe thrives in,
and guess what?
We’re all navigating our own versions of that in the same wilderness.
it made me wonder about the males we know,
the ones who we know are clearly just playing a role.
once upon a time,
they were in love (or lust) with someone like us.
if we are that male,
we were in love with someone like us.
Does that struggle for acceptance only calm the whispers on the outside,
but makes our inner whispers louder on the inside?
this is why i’m grateful for the moments i wasn’t accepted.
i don’t have to play a role; i don’t need anyone’s approval.
i can be,
do,
and date whoever the fuck i want.
in the chaotic forests where struggling males lose themselves and their true loves…
…maybe that’s where we truly win.
The ones who don’t GAF about the whispers to begin with.
lowkey: do people think shannon sharpe is gay?
“unc” vibes for sure,
but i never got gay.
Most of it came from the fact he had Hollywood as his stylist (the same game man who was with Kerry Rhodes and outted him) him and Shannon was close and Shannon state ld he’s his personal assistance and stylist and essentially saying him hanging around a gay man doesn’t make him gay and he doesn’t have to be “homophonic” and distance himself from gay men just so people thi k he straight. And I believe/believed him and left it as that, but of course the peanut gallery wasn’t trying to hear any of that.
I thought he was gay the first time I saw him.
I never got gay either I think I just got that he was another straight male who balls and that was really it. I find it interesting that he, at the age of 56, feels like he has to prove himself to other males because you would think he’d be over that desire to prove himself but alas he’s still male trying to keep a mostly male audience.
Foxxy, looks are deceiving, many men out there playing “house” A friend of mine with 6 kids, loves to squeeze my ass every chance he gets, and another with 3 wants to come over, but I won’t let him. I think Shannon is selective, he would have a lot to lose, so he can’t just fuck around with any random.