Hello Homo,
I saw your Instagram post about mythopoetic and sustainable activism a few weeks ago, and I want to know more. I feel completely checked out and overwhelmed by the current state of the world. I can’t seem to get involved in social action or even keep up with the news. Whenever I do, I either break down crying, fill with rage, or blank out for hours. I know those are trauma responses, and I feel like it is a tactic of the new administration, but I need to figure out how to get my head above water. The post you shared grabbed my eye, and I want more. Can you share more about the mythopoetic and how it can help?
Shayna, Denver
Hello Shayna,
Heck yes, I can. The link is here for the OFM readers who didn’t see this post. Also, that post received absolutely no traction compared to my other, less political posts and I think it fell victim to the new Meta algorithm filters, though I have no way of proving this other than seeing my reach and traffic crash since the inauguration. 
Shayna, I completely relate to how you are feeling. That is why I made that post. How could we, LGBTQ+ people, not feel upset or psychologically challenged by what is happening? I have found safety and solace in art, poetry, artistic film, music, and stories. That is not to say that I am losing myself in them. Rather, I feel revitalized by them and use creativity to counterbalance the dread and grief I feel, and I use them to process my feelings.
According to Depth Psychologists, Jungians, and mythic thinkers Donald Kalsched and Alan Jones, this is a Mythopoetic approach to life. In their essay “Myth and Psyche, The Evolution of Consciousness,” they explain:
“The mythic image is not to be taken literally and concretely as it would be in the belief system of a particular religion, nor is it to be dismissed as ‘mere illusion,’ as often happens in scientific circles. Instead, we must approach myth symbolically as revealed eternal ‘truths’ about mankind’s psychic existence—about the reality of the psyche.
“‘Once upon a time’ does not mean ‘once’ in history but refers to events that occur in eternal time, always and everywhere. Any myth is very much alive today. Every night in sleep, we sink back into that source of all mythological imagery, the unconscious psyche—the origin of dreams.
“Many of our games have their roots in mythology, and much of contemporary art, literature, and film is shot through with mythological themes.”
Intrinsic Values
Certainly, this sentiment sounds cool, but it is a bit abstract, so let me break it down. Poetics, myths, and art possess universal themes and intrinsic truths. Often, what we experience internally (emotionally) can be too charged for us to sit with directly for too long. It stings or burns too much to keep looking inward at it. This is true for trauma, shame, and forms of oppression—all things we LGBTQ+ are far too familiar with.
Mythopoetics allow us to see, hold, and process our internal pain externally in the mirroring that art can facilitate, through the likeness of our experience. Through metaphor, we are given a healthy degree of separation from our pain to hold it.
Similarly, poetics can bring us back to parts of ourselves that the world and current political climate try to take away– our creativity, our hope, our safety, our queerness. Oppression, threats of oppression, and pervasive political anxiety move us into trauma responses focusing on safety and self-preservation. This cuts us off from our higher levels of processing and deteriorates our view of the world and ourselves.
Accessing creativity activates our higher-level thinking and brings us back to our full selves—like a gratitude list practice, daily reminding ourselves of the positives in our lives to balance the negative and injustice. Again, this is not to escape, distract, or “ good vibes only”-wash away the reality of pain in the world. Rather, it is to recharge and connect to the parts of us isolated and shut down by oppression.
Myths and art help us see day-to-day life on a larger scale. Creativity also helps us hold conflicting and contrasting feelings so we can stay true to our values and our queerness and not split the world into “good or bad” or shrink to the oppressive tactics of normative culture. Poetics provides balance and fortitude to sit with our pain and our beauty.
Mutuality and Connection
Staying connected to ourselves, our community, and our queerness is a form of activism. Right now, the current administration wants to control us with fear and isolation. They want us to shrink, to be erased, and become invisible. Poetics helps us break out of the isolating effects of these executive orders, political grandstanding, and the empowered bigotry of this new presidency.
Art can help the community right now in endless ways. Think about the last time you saw a piece of art that embodied queerness that grabbed you and shook you to the core, brought you to life. For me, a good drag number by Sasha Colby gets my soul, or any art piece by Adam Chuck reminds me why I love being queerly sexually liberated. Anything written by prolific poets like James Baldwin can pull queers together when read together. 
Music is profound in how it amplifies and embodies words with soul. I couldn’t stop listening to Tom Rasmussen’s album Body Building following the inauguration, especially the track Glass (interlude), which features Shon Faye and This Is How We Walk on The Moon. Captivating. Sharing the experience of this artistry creates mutuality and connection through our queerness within the community. 
Political art specifically combines voice, aesthetics, and vibrancy while uniting people to create opposition and visibility against oppression. There are incredible political street circus groups like Bread & Puppet Theatre, Circus Amok, and Great Small Works. These groups create big, free, outdoor performances addressing political issues with captivating beauty. Similarly, Rude Mechanical Orchestra is an incredible queer marching band that brings volume, in all definitions of the word, to demonstrations, protests, and actions.
Sustainability in Practice
Thinking in general terms, poetics is a way to prevent burnout by balancing the pain and anxiety of the external political climate with our intrinsic values and authenticity. This can be how we use creativity to process our inner world, facilitate conversation interpersonally or on the community level, or maintain political movements.
I share this idea of the mythopoetic approach as a tool for sustainability as we move into weeks of protest and the fucking long four-year road ahead. Let’s try our hardest not to burn out. Remember that this needs to be a marathon and not a sprint. Larger-scale protests and demonstrations are only one kind of activism, and we need to keep going after the crowds go home. Please consider what sustainable actions you need to take place and if the poetics can help you.
Follow me on Instagram @holistic.homosexual for updates on my column, and stay tuned for the next HELLO HOMO!
Have a question you would like answered? Submit your questions directly to me at hellohomo@ofm.media.
Disclaimer: Hello Homo is for informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Hello Homo (Jesse Proia) is not providing mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment to readers. If you are someone you know is experience a mental health crisis or emergency, please contact 911, 988 or go to the nearest emergency room
All imagery courtesy of Jesse Proia
