If we use this definition then, shouldn’t everyone want to be flamboyant? We all strive to be more confident and exuberant people so why was flamboyance present to me in a negative way? Perhaps the adults in my life never really knew the true meaning of the word, they associated flamboyance with Gay because Gay men tend to be the most exuberant and confident type of people. As we take a look at the definition above we see that flamboyance is not a bad thing, flamboyance isn’t something that pertains to one gender, and in no way shape or form does it diminish your masculinity. It wasn’t until I started asking questions like “Why is is okay for my sister to be a tomboy but I cant paint my nails?” People would say “Because its flamboyant and Gay” so from that point on I always associated flamboyance with Gayness, and growing up being Gay was wrong so therefore being flamboyant was wrong. For as long as I can remember I have been called “Flamboyant” and for a long time I never knew what it meant I use to associated it with women, I used to think that it was just fancier way of saying that I acted like a girl.
