A performer gained attention through a semi-autobiographical series about living with cerebral palsy, but felt exhausted by being framed as inspirational. He described low self-esteem and frustration with the “inspiration porn” label. While filming a revival of Queer As Folk in New Orleans, he responded to these feelings by pursuing casual sex more intentionally, journaling after each encounter. The resulting thousands of words became The Slut Diaries and later formed the basis for a new book titled Inspiration Porn. The book blends reflections on sex and romance with childhood closeting, family trauma, internalized ableism, Hollywood ambition, and a car accident that contributed to painkiller addiction and alcoholism.
"After Ryan O'Connell's semi-autobiographical Netflix series Special -about a young man with cerebral palsy navigating life & love in LA-brought him to a new level of attention and acclaim, the actor/writer was surprised to find his very existence dubbed "inspiration porn." It was exhausting and frustrating. Especially because he didn't feel inspirational. Amid all his success, he couldn't even inspire confidence in himself. As O'Connell puts it, he "got really tired of having the self-esteem of Weight Watchers lasagna.""
"So, while filming Peacock's revival of Queer As Folk (which he also wrote & produced) in New Orleans, he decided to confront those feelings head-on by partaking more intentionally in every gay's favorite pastime: sleeping around. After each new hook-up, he'd journal about the experiences, and before long he'd had thousands of loads- excuse us, thousands of words to show for it. Those words became The Slut Diaries, and eventually The Slut Diaries became the basis of his new book, Inspiration Porn."
"The follow-up to his fiction novel Just By Looking At Him, essay collection Inspiration Porn finds O'Connell musing, yes, about sex & romance, but also about his closeted childhood, family trauma, internalized ableism, navigating celebrity & creative ambition in Hollywood, and the car accident that led to painkiller addiction & alcoholism. There's practically no corner of his life he doesn't explore."
Read at Queerty
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