To David Bowie. Love Petey Gibson
If There’s Not A Precedent, Then You Are Here To Make One
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| Petey Gibson |
By Petey Gibson, WICF Guest Blog Contributor
[Petey Gibson is a Groundlings-trained comedian and actor based in Los Angeles, by way of Boston. The Mary Dolan Show appears monthly in LA and sporadically around the country.]
I’ve had a full day to process David Bowie’s death. Or really, rather, his impact on my life. I will start by saying I wasn’t one of the music superfans - I don’t own his albums, I haven’t followed his every move. But like all megastars, he existed always in my periphery, and as a queer person, I found his presence to be extremely comforting and incredibly inspiring.
David Bowie was (and will always be) a badass. He was the epitome of confidence = sexiness. He had weird teeth, alien eyes, wore dresses and makeup and made love to men and women alike. He reinvented himself, and his sound, over and over again, creating new personas and names as he went. And the world went with it. He crashed through every social convention and brought the world to where he was, instead of conforming to where everybody else was. For me, that is his enormous impact on my life.
He was a gender nonconformist before we had the word. He could do anything and make it cool. I mean, he juggled a glass ball between his fingers while singing to jumping puppets, and we all thought Labyrinth was just the goddamn greatest. And it IS the goddamn greatest. But imagine if you read that on paper? “Jareth is angsty, in love with a teenage girl, holds babies hostage in a dirty castle and kicks puppets around, all in a frosted tip wig. Oh, and he twirls crystal balls in his hand the whole time. Also v. sexy.”
If ever there was someone to show us you can be and do whatever you can possibly dream, it was Bowie. That’s very important to remember. Whatever you can possibly imagine, go out there and make it happen. It you believe in it, you can absolutely bring that to life. I run a show as an 86 year old woman named Mary Dolan, where I sing Eddie Cantor songs and interview drag queens and clowns and comedians. And I love it so much I get other people to love it. Passion breeds interest in other people, I think.
If there's not a precedent, then you’re here to make one. Just because it hasn’t been made, fuck that. Make it yourself. There may be setbacks, but the world follows those who hold their heads high and press on. The nonconformists are the ones who change the world.
If ever there was someone to show us you can be and do whatever you can possibly dream, it was Bowie. That’s very important to remember. Whatever you can possibly imagine, go out there and make it happen. It you believe in it, you can absolutely bring that to life. I run a show as an 86 year old woman named Mary Dolan, where I sing Eddie Cantor songs and interview drag queens and clowns and comedians. And I love it so much I get other people to love it. Passion breeds interest in other people, I think.
If there's not a precedent, then you’re here to make one. Just because it hasn’t been made, fuck that. Make it yourself. There may be setbacks, but the world follows those who hold their heads high and press on. The nonconformists are the ones who change the world.
And if anyone out there is ever afraid to do what their gut says, because society doesn't look like you or act like you or talk like you, scream "Fuck you! Bowie is my King!!!!" and jump up on the table, rip your shirt off, and do a high kick. We can honor his queer, brave, totally unique legacy that way forever
RIP David Bowie. I assume you are smashed into a million glittering stars in the galaxy, and I’ll be sure to look up and say hello at night sometimes.
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