Not me choking up at my desk watching this NSFW performance and reading this roller coaster of emotion piece. First before the litany of opinions, validations, etc, You’re so loved. Second, you’re a bad ass writer.
You are your brand and recently, you put your brand out so publicly at a scale you never have before. At that point, it becomes very risky because it’s incredibly personal - your ability to provide your family consistently and your respect & understanding of your identity are the stakes.
As painful as it is, I hope that the hurt that led to the depression is just another narrowing of the funnel leading you to who you want to be in this phase of life. And criticism is very tough and overshadows the praise, but this weekend’s praise can’t be ignored.
I love you. We love you. Whether at a macro or micro level, the world is better with Lux ATL in it.
P.S. this party was fucking sick. Please let me pay for more.
Welcome back. Yes, even 53-year-old husbands die, but not every 54-year-old widow goes off the rails. There are many who gather strength, courage, and a "go fuck yourself" attitude toward the haters and wannabes. You've inspired me as Dr. Byron and as Lux. You showed me that I wasn't alone, and to embrace my freakiness. Bad shit happens and we get no choice in the matter. It sucks. All we can do is choose the way forward. Sure, I do my fair share of crying, but I schedule it at night while I'm alone. During the day I'm a bad bitch. The deeper I stand in my truth, the more people I will offend. That's the price I'm willing to pay. It's a bargain compared to the cost of silencing myself. I loved your video, there's no one who does it better. XO
I’m inspired by you as well. You’re an incredible talent on a number of levels and I’m so glad we found each other. Thank you for sharing the other side of widowhood that I did not get to see when I was a child.
Annnddd... the rage is real!! Hormones, for sure, but the shift into wise womanhood has been demonized. Just as we come into our most powerful sense of being and knowing our culture holds up a funhouse mirror to distract us. It is so hard to embrace something we've been taught to fear and loathe our entire lives. The struggle is real, our rage is valid, and we feel like crap when our kid stands in the line of fire (even when they do dumb shit and deserve some of our wrath). The chapstick can go fuck itself.
I have written six books and do not read reviews much less the online mud wrestling in comments sections. Writing is hard enough and there is no reason to make it any harder. As for the ever changing D Girls and D Boys of the entertainment industry, I try to be polite but simply don't take them seriously. The idea that human taste is quantifiable is a recent phenomenon pushed by "creative executives"--the ultimate oxymoron. After six options and more than a decade’s worth of “development deals” with Hollywood’s good, bad, and ugly, in 2023 I made a vow not to “hop on” another insipid Zoom call or sell another option. Instead, I assembled a small, talented team of filmmakers, and we began making a feature length documentary based on my book Thai Stick. Most of it has been shot and it does not suck because I did not listen to a decade's worth of bad ideas about what my story, my "lived experience," was about. Never forget the words of my friend John Milius who was a great supporter of my work when I needed it most, “All creative work is mystical. How dare they demystify it? How dare they think they can demystify it? Especially when they can’t write. How arrogant it is to assume that you know the market, that you know what’s popular today. Only Steven Spielberg knows what’s popular today. So leave it to him. He’s the only one in the history of man who has ever figured that out.”
Any time. Writing is hard work, the harder you work the luckier you get. Never stop, never rest, never look back, and try not to measure yourself against others. There are people who write, and then there are writers. They are not the same. When I lived in New York City, I knew a guy who went to all the right schools, knew all the right people, and attended all the right parties. After he wrote a good, first book, he was pushed to the head of our class, and for fifteen minutes was a minor celebrity. There was only one problem. Not only did he hate to write, but he needed high octane additives in order to meet his deadlines. After a second, underwhelming book, he wrote very little. His current career, however, teaching writing and talking about writing, continues to thrive....
Lux, your writing always has been great, and this one in particular has moved me. Brought my heart forward, tears welling, but also a fire in my belly. I’m grateful I have had the chance to witness some of your wonderful work (stripcamp, stripcovid and sanctuary) and how it helped me find my sensual movement, and celebrate myself, and see other women in their sensuality, their art, powerful even when they don’t feel as such. I’m grateful my sphere includes your art, and your voice (yes, I love your accent), and your movement (I am in awe.) one day I’ll join you all again at a retreat one day, and will never not read your writing (THAT BOOK! 💜)
Every time I read your words, I feel myself exhale in relief. Not only are you an incredible writer (indisputable), you are one of the most truthful ones I have been lucky enough to come across. Words that drip in real—what a gift in this day and age. Thank you. Thank you for your words and your artistry in all things, always. Somehow even in your dark night, offering such a powerful light 💥 ❤️🙏
I have found that those of us that are accustomed to being the lights for others, sometimes feel the need to pull ourselves out of the darkness “fast”. So many beautiful and supportive comments here. And as a fellow ‘celebrator of all’, I do feel compelled to offer a reminder of your permission to rest in the darkness for as long as you need.
We've interacted a bit on the gram, but I've never told you this. So, I'm a follower /supporter since I originally found you through your Icarus tutorial (which I miss, cursed be the person who took that from you). Stripcast has been on my recommended podcasts list since its release for many reasons, very entertaining, delicious storytelling, but there's a deeper aspect to it.
So, I'm a volunteer life coach / writer in a fairly big website tailored primarily towards women since 2017. I've listened and responded to countless life stories since then, most of them as you can guess, tailored around love, unrequited, towards undeserving men. What I always tell these women is that they need to re-tailor their love towards themselves. What do they want? How do they envision their life? Then and only then they might meet someone worthy of sharing it. They need to let themselves shine so they can be truly seen and chosen for who they really are because LOVE BEGINS WITH CHOICE.
This little line of yours from episode 9 has led to many many many a viewpoint shifted and a life changed. I know, cause I was there. I don't take the credit of course, I tell them that this amazing piece of writing and many more belongs to one of my favorite scholars from across the pond, Dr Lindsay Byron, look her up, she's pretty awesome, she's got a book out, lots of content and her IG profile is probably one of the few still worth to check out.
Please, never think your art is unimportant. One phrase of yours has the power to fix lives, including mine.
As always, grateful for your contribution. And the performance was amazing.
Wow. Truly moving information. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. And thank you for sharing a line of mine with others. It’s easy to forget that I’ve changed any lives at all. Thank you again for the reminder.
I've been feeling fortunate to have one who, at 70 she and my stepdad took to the road. They sold a 5,000 sq foot house along everything in it, and moved into 350 sq feet of 5th wheel camper. They've explored from Alaska to the Sea of Cortez, from Provincetown to Tijuana, and still have more to see. At 78 she'll be working at a campground near Devil's Tower Wyoming this summer.
And I'm the lucky person who gets to call her Mom.
The story you tell here is deeply moving and inspiring. That despite what our society has taught us about getting older, how deeply ingrained it is, it is a lie.
Tears surfaced in my eyes while reading your words. You have and will continue to do so much good between sharing your life, your skills, and helping hard working women have a marvelous time.
I'm glad you got your groove back. All these happiness experts tell us to get out of our heads and back into our bodies, which is exactly what you did. With style, grace, and an appreciative audience.
Dear Lindsay💖, I want to leave a hateful message under MP O’Leary’s ignorant comment, but don’t want to encourage him.
Thank you so much for your words and the video!!! I am an endlessly horny 76yr old woman, with a dear husband (DH) who can no longer have sex — our getting married was totally a lust-fest, and now, because of his illness/disability, that’s gone.
My body has gone from beautiful to awful because of the twisting distortion of inoperable scoliosis, and ridiculously large natural breasts. I should have had them reduced years ago, but DH loved them so…
Dressing is a daily challenge; discomfort a constant companion.
I needed to share this with you, and thank you for turning me on today!❣️
My face is still beautiful, if I do say so myself…no one believes my age. No surgery, just took excellent care of it forever. I’d love to show you a recent photo to prove my statement…but why does it even matter??
I worked in reproductive health care, sexology, HIV and addiction services my whole professional career…am sadly retired because I can’t keep it up physically.
OK, enough dumping for one sunny morning. Need to get the hell out of the house. If you’ve read this, thank you so much!❣️💕💞💖🥰
Greetings! As a fellow 43 year old woman, I align with you on so many levels…new to Substack & Im so grateful that this app/the algorithm put you in my life! Thank you for sharing yourself with us ~you are truly inspiring (I bought your book last night btw & cannot wait to read it) I felt the need to contact you here to let you know how your experience/perspective has impacted me in the best way! I relate with some of your story… I look forward to reading & watching more of you & what you create….its a breath of fresh air! thanx again! Joann in NJ
Between this and your segment on Vortex Vision (which I just watched) you have made me fucking bawl in the best way. I feel so much of this so very deeply and am desperately trying to find my spark again. This past year in particular has been HARD. I'm 41, and supect the beginnings of perimenopause for myself, making my ADHD even worse, to debilitating levels. I've been so fucking depressed and frozen in my despair...but you have given me the reminder I so desperately needed to start to crawl out of the depths. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being real as fuck. I love you.
I’m deeply touched by this. I’m a tired mom right now with not many words but I felt less alone after reading this. And your work as an artist in multiple ways continues to inspire me. Thank you.
Not me choking up at my desk watching this NSFW performance and reading this roller coaster of emotion piece. First before the litany of opinions, validations, etc, You’re so loved. Second, you’re a bad ass writer.
You are your brand and recently, you put your brand out so publicly at a scale you never have before. At that point, it becomes very risky because it’s incredibly personal - your ability to provide your family consistently and your respect & understanding of your identity are the stakes.
As painful as it is, I hope that the hurt that led to the depression is just another narrowing of the funnel leading you to who you want to be in this phase of life. And criticism is very tough and overshadows the praise, but this weekend’s praise can’t be ignored.
I love you. We love you. Whether at a macro or micro level, the world is better with Lux ATL in it.
P.S. this party was fucking sick. Please let me pay for more.
Now I’m the one choking up. Thank you so much for these kind words. They landed on my heart.
Welcome back. Yes, even 53-year-old husbands die, but not every 54-year-old widow goes off the rails. There are many who gather strength, courage, and a "go fuck yourself" attitude toward the haters and wannabes. You've inspired me as Dr. Byron and as Lux. You showed me that I wasn't alone, and to embrace my freakiness. Bad shit happens and we get no choice in the matter. It sucks. All we can do is choose the way forward. Sure, I do my fair share of crying, but I schedule it at night while I'm alone. During the day I'm a bad bitch. The deeper I stand in my truth, the more people I will offend. That's the price I'm willing to pay. It's a bargain compared to the cost of silencing myself. I loved your video, there's no one who does it better. XO
I’m inspired by you as well. You’re an incredible talent on a number of levels and I’m so glad we found each other. Thank you for sharing the other side of widowhood that I did not get to see when I was a child.
Annnddd... the rage is real!! Hormones, for sure, but the shift into wise womanhood has been demonized. Just as we come into our most powerful sense of being and knowing our culture holds up a funhouse mirror to distract us. It is so hard to embrace something we've been taught to fear and loathe our entire lives. The struggle is real, our rage is valid, and we feel like crap when our kid stands in the line of fire (even when they do dumb shit and deserve some of our wrath). The chapstick can go fuck itself.
“Just as we come into our most powerful sense of being and knowing our culture holds up a funhouse mirror to distract us.”
Wow. That line really resonates.
I have written six books and do not read reviews much less the online mud wrestling in comments sections. Writing is hard enough and there is no reason to make it any harder. As for the ever changing D Girls and D Boys of the entertainment industry, I try to be polite but simply don't take them seriously. The idea that human taste is quantifiable is a recent phenomenon pushed by "creative executives"--the ultimate oxymoron. After six options and more than a decade’s worth of “development deals” with Hollywood’s good, bad, and ugly, in 2023 I made a vow not to “hop on” another insipid Zoom call or sell another option. Instead, I assembled a small, talented team of filmmakers, and we began making a feature length documentary based on my book Thai Stick. Most of it has been shot and it does not suck because I did not listen to a decade's worth of bad ideas about what my story, my "lived experience," was about. Never forget the words of my friend John Milius who was a great supporter of my work when I needed it most, “All creative work is mystical. How dare they demystify it? How dare they think they can demystify it? Especially when they can’t write. How arrogant it is to assume that you know the market, that you know what’s popular today. Only Steven Spielberg knows what’s popular today. So leave it to him. He’s the only one in the history of man who has ever figured that out.”
I needed to read this. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
Any time. Writing is hard work, the harder you work the luckier you get. Never stop, never rest, never look back, and try not to measure yourself against others. There are people who write, and then there are writers. They are not the same. When I lived in New York City, I knew a guy who went to all the right schools, knew all the right people, and attended all the right parties. After he wrote a good, first book, he was pushed to the head of our class, and for fifteen minutes was a minor celebrity. There was only one problem. Not only did he hate to write, but he needed high octane additives in order to meet his deadlines. After a second, underwhelming book, he wrote very little. His current career, however, teaching writing and talking about writing, continues to thrive....
More on writing: https://petermaguire.substack.com/p/taylor-brown
Lux, your writing always has been great, and this one in particular has moved me. Brought my heart forward, tears welling, but also a fire in my belly. I’m grateful I have had the chance to witness some of your wonderful work (stripcamp, stripcovid and sanctuary) and how it helped me find my sensual movement, and celebrate myself, and see other women in their sensuality, their art, powerful even when they don’t feel as such. I’m grateful my sphere includes your art, and your voice (yes, I love your accent), and your movement (I am in awe.) one day I’ll join you all again at a retreat one day, and will never not read your writing (THAT BOOK! 💜)
🖤🤘🏻Maura
DUDE! Great to see you here!! Thank you so much!
I'm new(ish) here and getting the hang of it :P
Every time I read your words, I feel myself exhale in relief. Not only are you an incredible writer (indisputable), you are one of the most truthful ones I have been lucky enough to come across. Words that drip in real—what a gift in this day and age. Thank you. Thank you for your words and your artistry in all things, always. Somehow even in your dark night, offering such a powerful light 💥 ❤️🙏
I have found that those of us that are accustomed to being the lights for others, sometimes feel the need to pull ourselves out of the darkness “fast”. So many beautiful and supportive comments here. And as a fellow ‘celebrator of all’, I do feel compelled to offer a reminder of your permission to rest in the darkness for as long as you need.
I’m honored to have you as a reader. Thank you so much for your kind words.
We've interacted a bit on the gram, but I've never told you this. So, I'm a follower /supporter since I originally found you through your Icarus tutorial (which I miss, cursed be the person who took that from you). Stripcast has been on my recommended podcasts list since its release for many reasons, very entertaining, delicious storytelling, but there's a deeper aspect to it.
So, I'm a volunteer life coach / writer in a fairly big website tailored primarily towards women since 2017. I've listened and responded to countless life stories since then, most of them as you can guess, tailored around love, unrequited, towards undeserving men. What I always tell these women is that they need to re-tailor their love towards themselves. What do they want? How do they envision their life? Then and only then they might meet someone worthy of sharing it. They need to let themselves shine so they can be truly seen and chosen for who they really are because LOVE BEGINS WITH CHOICE.
This little line of yours from episode 9 has led to many many many a viewpoint shifted and a life changed. I know, cause I was there. I don't take the credit of course, I tell them that this amazing piece of writing and many more belongs to one of my favorite scholars from across the pond, Dr Lindsay Byron, look her up, she's pretty awesome, she's got a book out, lots of content and her IG profile is probably one of the few still worth to check out.
Please, never think your art is unimportant. One phrase of yours has the power to fix lives, including mine.
As always, grateful for your contribution. And the performance was amazing.
Wow. Truly moving information. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. And thank you for sharing a line of mine with others. It’s easy to forget that I’ve changed any lives at all. Thank you again for the reminder.
You are so incredibly epic. The power in this dance and in your words here... I'm deeply moved. We'll done. 🙌
Thank you for taking the time to watch and read. 💕
The power of women doesn't diminish, ever.
I've been feeling fortunate to have one who, at 70 she and my stepdad took to the road. They sold a 5,000 sq foot house along everything in it, and moved into 350 sq feet of 5th wheel camper. They've explored from Alaska to the Sea of Cortez, from Provincetown to Tijuana, and still have more to see. At 78 she'll be working at a campground near Devil's Tower Wyoming this summer.
And I'm the lucky person who gets to call her Mom.
The story you tell here is deeply moving and inspiring. That despite what our society has taught us about getting older, how deeply ingrained it is, it is a lie.
Thank you for sharing your pain and triumph.
Tears surfaced in my eyes while reading your words. You have and will continue to do so much good between sharing your life, your skills, and helping hard working women have a marvelous time.
I'm glad you got your groove back. All these happiness experts tell us to get out of our heads and back into our bodies, which is exactly what you did. With style, grace, and an appreciative audience.
I watched this whole thing, waiting for an old lady to show up. Is this woman supposed to be an old lady?
lol thank you; yes I am the old lady in question.
It was a great show!
Good grief this is stunning writing! Such a heart-filled, intimate redemption arc. I clicked the post for the video. I subscribed for your voice.
Thank you. 🙏
Looks like a really cool club love to be there someday wherever it is
Dear Lindsay💖, I want to leave a hateful message under MP O’Leary’s ignorant comment, but don’t want to encourage him.
Thank you so much for your words and the video!!! I am an endlessly horny 76yr old woman, with a dear husband (DH) who can no longer have sex — our getting married was totally a lust-fest, and now, because of his illness/disability, that’s gone.
My body has gone from beautiful to awful because of the twisting distortion of inoperable scoliosis, and ridiculously large natural breasts. I should have had them reduced years ago, but DH loved them so…
Dressing is a daily challenge; discomfort a constant companion.
I needed to share this with you, and thank you for turning me on today!❣️
My face is still beautiful, if I do say so myself…no one believes my age. No surgery, just took excellent care of it forever. I’d love to show you a recent photo to prove my statement…but why does it even matter??
I worked in reproductive health care, sexology, HIV and addiction services my whole professional career…am sadly retired because I can’t keep it up physically.
OK, enough dumping for one sunny morning. Need to get the hell out of the house. If you’ve read this, thank you so much!❣️💕💞💖🥰
Thank YOU so much for sharing your story!
Greetings! As a fellow 43 year old woman, I align with you on so many levels…new to Substack & Im so grateful that this app/the algorithm put you in my life! Thank you for sharing yourself with us ~you are truly inspiring (I bought your book last night btw & cannot wait to read it) I felt the need to contact you here to let you know how your experience/perspective has impacted me in the best way! I relate with some of your story… I look forward to reading & watching more of you & what you create….its a breath of fresh air! thanx again! Joann in NJ
Very kind of you to read and to comment. Thank you so much. I’m honored.
Between this and your segment on Vortex Vision (which I just watched) you have made me fucking bawl in the best way. I feel so much of this so very deeply and am desperately trying to find my spark again. This past year in particular has been HARD. I'm 41, and supect the beginnings of perimenopause for myself, making my ADHD even worse, to debilitating levels. I've been so fucking depressed and frozen in my despair...but you have given me the reminder I so desperately needed to start to crawl out of the depths. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being real as fuck. I love you.
Thank you so much for reading, and for the love. I appreciate you.
As soon as I'm able I'll be restarting my subscription cos you are absolutely worth it 🖤
I’m deeply touched by this. I’m a tired mom right now with not many words but I felt less alone after reading this. And your work as an artist in multiple ways continues to inspire me. Thank you.