I think my dad is highly gender-neutral. If he doesn't like someone, he'll articulate that, and I think it's also part of what resonates about him. He'll say what he's thinking.
As a novelist, I suppose I can say that I'm highly articulate. But I know, as a person, in other ways, I'm not always articulate. I think we are all, from time to time, inarticulate, at some level, about some things.
I think a lot of what I've done is about people feeling as if they are part of the world but also not part of it at the same time. I don't know whether that's from being a gay kid, but I definitely think that resonates with me.
When I think about him, I think about him as John and John Wick. I think of John Wick being the assassin part of John. I would say that guy has strong will; never gives up; he's kind; and there's honor about him. He's also a man of strength. There are even some vulnerabilities to him. Most importantly, he's good at his job.
I've always thought about gender, as someone who has been categorically "gender nonconforming" for my entire life, I was forced to think about it, but obviously I became more conscious of it as a social issue as I've gotten older. And as I've met more folks who are genderqueer or trans, it's been really enlightening to hear their stories, and it got me thinking about my own gender history.
When people talked about O.J. Simpson being race-neutral, that was a race card. It just meant we don't think of him as black. But race-neutral is just like flesh-tone Band-aids. It's not neutral; it's white.
Also I've got to say in the movie ["300"] Gorgo, who is the Queen, she has also a part that is - I think - I don't want to say, 'Oh look, it's multi-quadrant,' and all this. I believe that it is because I think my dad can see this movie and go, 'F**k yeah!
I think it's unhealthy to listen to what people say. My dad used to always say, "Don't believe in your own hype!" I was confused at the time: "Dad, there is no hype on me." But now I understand what he was saying. If someone says, "I think you're amazing" and someone says, "I think you're awful," I would like to have the same reaction to both, to be confident and calm enough to be able to take both of those and not be affected by either.
Philosophy does provide me a structure and a way of thinking. Religion - like the religion I grew up with, Mormonism - also provides a way of thinking. And I think those two structures - one highly logical, the other anything but - are always part of my thought process as I'm putting together a story.
When you say, "History is written by the winners," you like to think about someone who isn't you. You want to think, "Oh, that's the juggernaut I'm standing against." But you're probably part of it.
I literally had a very articulate, though highly impaired, homeless man say to me, “Smokey! I love you! What’s happening with Jacob?” Here’s a guy living on the street, but he finds a way to watch Lost! And I’m looking at him, thinking, Your priorities are completely ass-backward!
What's amazing about this show [Westworld], and what it gives us permission to do, is to be kind of superhuman. Because at the end of the day, [Dolores] she's not a male and she's not a female. She's evolved past that. She's a very highly advanced being, and so I think it's really going to knock down a lot of stereotypes and a lot of gender roles and be a neutral party.
What's interesting about Twitter and the influencers that someone follows - like, say, Shaquille O'Neal - is that they see someone who is using the exact same tools that they have access to, and I think that inspires this hope to be able to really engage with someone like him.
In Israel, if a person doesn't agree with you, she just says no. In Alabama, someone would say, 'I'll think about it.' We would take that literally. So, if you ask for a favor and someone says they'll think about it, they're really not thinking about it.
I think, regardless of gender, women and men need to be brave, take chances with their work, and be open to feedback. But I do think 'politeness' is an issue that can hinder your work if you aren't careful. Kindness is important, but being overly polite - thinking you can't disagree with someone about your own work - be careful about that.
The news is not gender-neutral, but it's usually reported as though it's gender-neutral.
People who would not be using the word gender or thinking about gayness or trans-ness may actually, without even thinking about it, be not their own gender in their inner world. I think that's actually so normal, because female sexuality is sold to all of us. It doesn't just reach the eyes of men. You might not care about the idea of boobs or jugs or whatever, but it could impact your inner sexual life.