When I exist without masking, it’s generally somewhere by someone called cringe. Once I realized that cringe for some others really just meant free & authenticity for me, I literally can’t exist anymore in a way that doesn’t honor that.
I’ve started to catch myself talking without a filter & noticing how “masking” takes more out of me than it EVER did. It physically will start to make me sick it is so at odds with myself to be disingenuous, if I need to let my freak flag fly I have to. If I need to be a feral asshole raccoon in a trash can I have to. If I need to disappear into my head I have to, (how this works as a parent to a five year old with no support or co parent is a whole different ballgame for another day lmao) but the point is. A big part of really getting how this is present in ALL areas of my life was deconstructing from mainstream tech & having somewhere to learn from/go to like Nostr. Removing censorship/control over creativity/ community includes accepting those you don’t quite get/like and watching others escaping these systems WILL often look cringe to you. My advice is to get over it, try some cringe yourself & be a community worth coming to for the diverse masses out there needing us.
