The world needs more Frank Ocean. The R&B singer has been just about to release his sophomore LP for over a year and has kept a remarkably low profile since coming out as bisexual in 2012. Earlier today, he posted a statement to his Tumblr, in which he talked about the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on June 12, as well as his experiences as a queer Christian and the homophobia he was surrounded by as a child.
I was six years old when I heard my dad call our transgender waitress a faggot as he dragged me out a neighborhood diner saying we wouldn’t be served because she was dirty. That was the last afternoon I saw my father and the first time I heard that word, I think, although it wouldn’t shock me if it wasn’t. Many hate us and wish we didn’t exist. Many are annoyed by our wanting to be married like everyone else or use the correct restroom like everyone else. Many don’t see anything wrong with passing down the same old values that send thousands of kids into suicidal depression each year. So we say pride and we express love for who and what we are.
He went on to talk about his personal relationship with God, and ended by saying:
I wanna know what others hear, I’m scared to know but I wanna know what everyone hears when they talk to God. Do the insane hear the voice distorted? Do the indoctrinated hear another voice entirely?
You can read the whole post here.