26 I Out in the Mountains [November 2000

Truth is Funnier Than Fiction

REVIEW BY CHRIS VACCARO

It’s hard to explain why I so
enjoyed Michael Thomas
Ford’s latest collection of
essays. Life as a gay man is
difficult enough without hav-
ing to be reminded of how
many times I felt excluded
from modem-day rituals such
as proms and college dances
and estranged from family and
friends during the opening of
the closet door during the
1980s.

But perhaps it is the way
Ford reminds us that makes Its
Not Mean If Its True so attrac-
tive. Through nostalgic walks
through his early years, he
never loses sight of his overall
goal—to remain humorously
sardonic and mildly caustic. In
a tone of voice that concate-
nates with the animated TV
character Daria, Ford takes his
readers on an autobiographical
trip through the gay suburban
American experience.

In his satirical sketches,
Ford covers most areas that
affect gay life today. Looking
back to his early youth, he rem-

inisces about his love for MTV’

and cultural idols Prince,
George Michael, and Boy
George, who flashed their
eccentric hairdos and androgy-
nous dress before millions of
clueless viewers. “And I still
vividly remember,” Ford notes,
“the first time I saw Boy
George prance across the
screen. ‘Hey, that girl is kind of
pretty,’ my father said, and in
my heart I knew that George
and I shared the same secret

ment, would erupt, showering
everyone...with life giving
water.” Infused within the
same sketch is a commentary
on our disproportionate interest
in reforming health care and
curing breast cancer. Talk
about putting things in per-
spective!

Alongside these criticisms
of straight and gay culture,
Ford places tidbits of intimate
autobiographical information,
in which he shares with us his
thoughts on everything from
his own desire to belong to a
community to his first and lat-
est crushes.

Overall, what is most
appealing about Ford’s whiny,
whimsical, and at times pre-
dictably gloomy perspective is
its raw honesty. An immediate
example is his take on the gym.
“People who need an excuse
for such things like to pretend
they’re doing it because it
makes them feel more alive, or
because having greater
strength means fewer back
problems, or whatever. These
people are liars. The only rea-
son to lift weights is to make

Life is good.

fflag, like a fiag.

your arms and chest and other
important parts bigger.
Period.”

In the face of such honesty, I
can only join Ford in laughing
at my own behavior as I pre-
pare myself to go to the Y for
some “spiritual invigoration.”
His attempt to laugh with me
and not at me is why I look for-
ward to his new material with
eagerness. ,

Chris Vaccaro is a lecturer
at the University of Vermont.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Ford’s wry attitude toward

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