As someone who identifies as gay - I remember growing up and going to the bookstore, and going to the “Gay and Lesbian” section and thinking to myself, “This is it. This is what we have. This one shelf. That’s it.” And we have some short stories, and we have a lot of… you know, some history, and things like that. But the fiction all centered around BEING gay. Like, it was defined by that.
And so, I think what I hear a lot from the fans - and I share their sentiment - is here is something where being gay is just ONE aspect of a much larger world that we live in. And that world is beautiful, and terrifying, and insane, and funny - and it just fits in there.
And for me, you know, being like a gay artist working on a show like this - I like gay stuff! Gay stuff is cool! But I mean, so many times, I see independent films, and independent books, and they’re writing the - “Oh, this is GAY FICTION.” Well, what does that MEAN? Does that mean you have to be gay to read it? Do you have to be gay to write it? Like - what? I don’t understand!
Like, just one aspect of Cecil is his sexuality. AND, on top of that, in this crazy world of Night Vale, his sexuality and his relationship with another man, is the LEAST WEIRD THING to happen on a daily basis.
So it really, it makes me feel so good to go back and think back where I was when I was like 15-16, and thinking - yes, this is it. We’re making it, we’re expanding it, we’re pushing boundaries out and saying… this isn’t a GAY PODCAST. We’re not gonna check your card at the door. So I love that. That’s one of my favorites.