Over the weekend, for the first time in my life, I went to a Renaissance Festival, in Crownsville, Maryland, on the outskirts of Annapolis. The boyfriend of a friend of mine was working there, selling roses. I wasn't especially eager to go, but it seemed as good a time as any to face down my fear. I'm unnerved by places where people aren't ashamed to put their inner fantasies or enthusiasms on display — where they don't hesitate to lace up a corset or put on a pair of elven ears and parade around as a kind of play version of themselves. Of course these enthusiasts have no reason to feel embarrassed, but I find myself becoming embarrassed for them, which is about the lamest way for me to be ashamed of myself — through proxy disavowal.
Keep on the Borderlands
Keep on the Borderlands
Keep on the Borderlands
Over the weekend, for the first time in my life, I went to a Renaissance Festival, in Crownsville, Maryland, on the outskirts of Annapolis. The boyfriend of a friend of mine was working there, selling roses. I wasn't especially eager to go, but it seemed as good a time as any to face down my fear. I'm unnerved by places where people aren't ashamed to put their inner fantasies or enthusiasms on display — where they don't hesitate to lace up a corset or put on a pair of elven ears and parade around as a kind of play version of themselves. Of course these enthusiasts have no reason to feel embarrassed, but I find myself becoming embarrassed for them, which is about the lamest way for me to be ashamed of myself — through proxy disavowal.