With the NYC Pride Parade around the corner, you may be wondering about what to wear. Sure, you you should do whatever makes you feel most comfortable and what you can really kick your heels up in. But let me make one tiny suggestion: it may be time to throw out the glitter and rainbows and dress up as the true symbol of the LGBTQ community: the babadook. That's right: THE BABADOOK.
If you're not familiar, the babadook is a character/monster/WTF creature from the 2014 horror film of the same name. Basically, in the film, the babadook is a creature from a children's book who becomes terrifyingly real. It torments and tortures the characters in the film. "Yes," I hear you say. "A destructive and creepy monkey-like monster in a top hat— the perfect symbol of the LGBTQ community!" And you would be right my friends. You would be so, so right.
Seriously, what's the connection? Well, according to Mashable, it all started last year when people started to notice that Netflix listed The Babadook under the LGBT movies sub-genre. Now, it's not the first time that Netflix's algorithm has messed up, but it's a pretty ridiculous one. So instead of being offended or up-in-arms about it, the LGBTQ community decided to embrace it. And of course, nowadays, that means one thing — turning it into a meme. Now the babadook has taken off as a hilarious and (completely unofficial) mascot of the queer community. I mean, this thing has taken on a life of it's damn own. Because, really, what else can you do?
As a bisexual, I am totally happy forfeiting the "B" in LGBTQ to the babadook. His top hat is snazzy and he's clever as hell. It's 2017, so let's all embrace who we want to be — even if you're a queer children's book and movie monster who represents grief but is also kind of horrific in your own right. They need love too, you know.
And like I said, it's really taken off:
People of Twitter, Tumblr, and the entire internet are celebrating this little guy everywhere. Like a unspoken understanding that this is the queer icon that we need, the queer icon that we've waited for, the queer icon who take Trump down with a single look and rousing speech. The one. The only. The babadook.
One of the things I love about the internet is that whenever I think it can't get any more ridiculous it managed to get so much more ridiculous. But being irreverent, fun, and completely unapologetic is a huge part of what Pride is all about. So you know what? I'm ready to welcome the babadook. With open. damn. arms.
