Pariah (1/22/12)

I was on my way to see the movie Pariah at the only theater that was playing it in Portland. Before going into the movie I stopped at a plaza on SW Park. The plaza has a section that has a sheltered area covered with plexiglass that is being held by tension wire. Little did I know that my picture would be very fitting to my reflections after the movie.

Pariah is a movie about a young lesbian teenager becoming more comfortable with her identity and finally coming out to her family (even though they had a feeling all along). When she finally confirmed their suspicions the mother physically assaulted her daughter. When the scene took place, the woman next to me shifted her body and I could almost feel her tension. It made me think, how this woman identified with what just played out on screen, either personally or because she knows people that have been through it.

As a straight woman I have not had to explain my sexually or be judged by it. I just know that I do not want our daughter to have to live a double life. I do not want her to fear to be her true self with my husband and I. It broke my heart to see this play out on film, but more so to know that there were woman in that theater who personally
identified with the main charter, Alike, all too well.

If you wounder why the name Pariah, for its meaning... 1. a person without status, 2. a rejected member of society, 3. an outcast.