As I begin to approach my shift into adulthood questions that run through my mind 24/7 are, “What do I want to be?” sometimes the what is replaced with a who but the general message is still there. It’s hard being a queer person and only feeling like you can thrive in a few different career paths that allow you to elevate your queerness. I have settled on becoming a lawyer because who I want to be, is someone who creates change. My interviewee today is a prime example of someone making waves in a career that is not dominated by LGBTQ+ people. His passion, drive, intelligence, and overall personality has shoved him and his career into a path to superstardom.
Colin Bedell was born in Long Island, New York. He has studied at places like Columbia University and The New School. As well as a successful author to three books, one of which is a bestseller, he writes frequently for magazines such as Cosmopolitan. His exuberant personality and knowledge of astrology has helped his career become extremely successful, like his interview on The Today Show in 2020. I had the honor of being able to get insight on why he is a writer, his process, his struggles, and the lessons he has learned along the way.
Q1. What made you begin your career in writing? Inspirations, mentors, etc.
“Honestly, I had no intentions of becoming a professional writer.” He continues, “It was not until my mid-20’s when I realized that speaking and writing my truth, to the best of my ability, had value. When I was 18, I was extremely interested in law and went into pre-law studies. Writing seized me. It wasn’t until I found the school that I graduated from-The New School- that I found the only undergraduate writing workshop in the country.” He clarified, “While things may be different now since I have been in school, if you study non-fiction writing you are guided in a more “structured” way of learning the craft. This was an open-ended writing workshop and I was able to experiment with all different types of writing and techniques. My writing was nothing to be amazed about, I had to learn cliches, proper grammatical structures, etc. It wasn’t until I was 23 to 24 when I realized this was something I wanted to do.” Like I stated before Bedel studied at The New School, they have many different departments and one of them is the Jim Parson School of Design. This was an off the cuff question I had: “Do you feel that your fashion experience helped elevate your queerness?” He responded, “A fashion school? In New York City? Abso-fucking-loutley! They told me that I wasn’t weird enough. They wanted me weirder, gayer, louder.” I wanted to reiterate, Bedell is from Long Island and they wanted him louder. Louder. He ended with, “And here I am! I backed into it and now I'm swimming in it.”
Q2. How has being a part of the LGBTQ+ community impacted your work (not just in writing)?
“It has allowed me to understand what it’s like being born outside of majority culture and have a marginal perspective.” He adds, “Which makes me question everything. As a queer person we are here to query- question- and bring a lot of trusims into a dialouge and say, ‘Let me fact-check that.’ It has given me permission to actually find out what is true for our community and the population in general. We can reinvent new rules or preserve what is working. [Being queer] Also has helped me understand the conversation on belonging in a very menagiful way. As queer people, we understand what it’s like to be in a chosen family and to chose family, which is a very rare thing. And just joy. What it feels like to be in a communtiy.
Q3. What is the premise for your three books?
“My first book (A Little Bit of Astrology: An Introduction to the Zodiac) had to be short and summarized in a small amount of words which was hard. Yet, it was fun to make!” Bedell’s first book was the first thing I ever bought with my own money and let me tell you, it was worth it. It was a great look into astrology while not being over complicated. As someone who only started diving into astrology two years ago this book was a great tool. Bedell continues, “My second book (Queer Cosoms), which is all about queer indenties and relationships. We can look at how astrology can have a conversation on shame and reclaiming worthiness. Astrology can help us address the tools and technologies that we have readily available to us, to increase our relational understanding. Our lives are dependent on how healthy our relationships are. My third book is all about gemini! I wrote that doing dome gemini messed up stuff like getting into trouble all over Europe. But it was great.”
Q4. Being the author of three books and the owner of QueerCosmos what is your writing process?
“I am very consistent. I have to write on schedule to give myself the proper breathing room and I have to give myself a lot of time. Related to the process, you really want to ground yourself in a helpful morning routine. Meditation really helps me be a strong writer and allows my brain to be fully present. I have also found that listening to others has helped me be an articulate writer. This all helps me receive creative insight and allows me to take it from my head to the paper. Something like this can help your ideas come across well because you have the right framework. Every day that I meditate I know damn well my writing is the caliber it has to be.”
Q5. What are some obstacles you have faced in your industry (specifically relation to your queerness)?
“Like I said before our job is to question as queer people. Finding where things are intersectional, whether people’s voices are heard, whether things are actually true based on fact. I have found that people don’t take well to asking questions. However me, I don’t care if they don’t like it, cause I got questions! And, I am also not gonna accept what you think is true if you don’t have facts.” While I am positive he doesn’t mean malice, he has a point. We should, as a community, stand up to people who are spewing false “facts” that are endangering our community, our any for that matter. He ends with, “People reject curiosity, very quickly. It is much more accepted to be a knower rather than a student. I feel that if you have been propagating things that are not true, not working, and not serving the times in which we live, I’m coming for you!”
Q6. Do you feel there is enough LGBTQ+ representation in your line of work?
“No. But I think that needs to be side by side with providing professional opportunities for balck women in our line of work.” He elobartes, “There are a lot of gay atrologers, are they all publsihed authors, no, but there are even fewer black women that have been published (as astrologers.) My friend, Mecca Woods, wrote an astrology book in 2018 (Astrology for Happiness and Success: From Aries to Pisces, Create the Life You Want--Based on Your Astrological Sign!), and it was the first astrology book written by a black woman in over a decade. What I have noticed is that, no, there are not even gay people but the shortage is greater among black women. I feel that queer communtiy cannot advance unless it’s as intersectional as possible with racial equity. Because, at the end of the day, we are all doing the work together.”
Q7. What is some advice you would give to those who are balancing their queerness and wanting to pursue writing/publishing (that is not queer-related)?
“I think they need to walk in there unapologetically. Our capacity for self-acceptance really determines how other people receive us. I worked in an industry that was extremely hetrosexual/heteronormative and I made amaizng realtionships there. I feel it was because I went it, not overly armored or defensive, or are they calling me the f- word under their breath? Bedell then says,” I was assuming positive intent. That came with my own self-acceptance and the perception that I proactively brought to that space. I felt fully self-accepted in who I am. When people are self-acceptant they attract the circumstances, situations, and events that serve them. I was not trying to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, I kept it real 24/7. I didn’t need anyone’s permission, everyone was getting it at 100. At the time I was 26 and I had a little bit of experience under my belt but I really started to frame that straight men were not concerned with me.” As a queer person I understand both Bedell and the side he speaks of. I am still sometimes afraid of what will happen if I do a certain thing around a hetersexual male. I myself am still working on full self-acceptance. It’s not easy. But we have to start somewhere. He ends, “After I had realized that they were worried about their own stuff, and not me, I found myself having great relationships which helped me become a better person.”
Talking with someone like Colin helped me see into a part of queer culture I have rarely seen. The success. Sometimes it feels that the world is against us. However seeing people like Colin thrive by being himself gives me hope. As a queer person, I have struggled with fully being myself 100% of the time. It may be something I’ll always struggle with. I find myself thinking that people are going to “find out.” While I am out and proud, I still feel like sometimes I need to keep it a secret. Yet, being myself is the thing I have that is unique. As I enter these next few months filled with tests, college applications, essays and more, I will think about something Colin told me, I am assuming positive intent for every aspect of my life.
Information on Colin Bedell:
Instagram: @queercosmos
Website: https://www.queercosmos.com
Information on Mecca Woods
Instagram: @1meccanism
Website: https://www.mylifecreated.com
Picture used in cover photo:
Instagram: @auragami.la
Website: https://auragami.la
Picture uploaded by @queercosmos: February 23, 2020
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