This morning’s studio work is a merged triptych — three moments folded into one frame. The connection? Joy.
The impromptu brunch with new friends, the ride home from the Eagle, knowing the NYC subway system backwards—-and being gay.
A Swansea University study tracking over 150,000 people found that gay men at the top of the wellbeing distribution report the highest happiness of any group measured — a reversal that only shows up once acceptance is genuinely present.
A separate global survey of over 82,000 people across 153 countries identifies family acceptance as the single strongest predictor of wellbeing in the community.
The pattern is simple. Take away the marginalization, and what’s left isn’t neutral — it’s joy.
Sources: Swansea University / The Conversation; Global LGBTQ+ Happiness Survey, CNRS & UNAIDS, Nature Human Behaviour
