The word "sincere" comes from the root words meaning, "without wax."

It was a commercial expression used in the marble trade, in which it was a common practice to mask imperfections in the stone by filling them in with wax. It made the merchandise look good, but the unwary buyer might get it home to find an inconvenient, perhaps even infuriating, surprise.

Marble sold without wax was advertised "as is," unretouched, what-you-see-is-what-you-get: if it looked good, it was good. If it didn't... well, at least you knew up front what you were in for. No unpleasant surprises awaited those who selected "sin-cere" marble.

What a queer practice, to conduct commerce with such blatant honesty! What a rarity, to find a product that delivered exactly what was promised!

It's a rarity in the here and now, too, to find people who are willing to present to their worlds their unretouched, as-is selves. The things that hide our flaws from the eyes of the world afford us a measure of armor, too. But our integrity can't be witnessed if it isn't exposed.

It's gutsy to go out into the fray unarmed, equipped with nothing more than our wits and our moral fiber. To be authentic is to be vulnerable.

But it's the shortest way--shoot, it's the only way--to intimacy.

Sincerity means that we don't hide by becoming sarcastic or defensive, or by deflecting or changing the subject or writing off the unobtainable grapes as being sour. It means that we own how we are, exactly as we are. It means not needing to negotiate for our acceptance: they can take us or leave us, and we'll learn to live with however that makes us feel. It's a clean way of being in the world.

It's a queer way of being in the world.

But then, so are we.

http://queersincerity.tribe.net