Someone write an essay about how straight men through the years have used John Lennon to project their own feelings of their misunderstood genius and the pain of conforming to a hyper-masculine ideal when in reality they are more like the cousin of that archetype - the still-pretty-masculine but with the soul of a poet type. And then compare it to how young queer people today may use John to project their own feelings as they grapple with internalised homophobia, identity confusion, self esteem issues and mental illness and apply a more modern and empathetic approach to understanding how John’s trauma shaped him - rather than the classic ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and gives you a point to prove to the world’ line of thinking.
(And furthermore explore the effect of the difference of older straight males with no concept of what it means to be queer that shape how John’s sexuality, gender and identity is perceived by the general public because of their very ill-informed and narrow understanding of those topics.)
