Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan King.
Hi Morgan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! My name is Morgan, I prefer they/them pronouns, I’m 25 years old and live in Athens, GA with my husband Cal. I started yoga and clowning at Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution about five years ago, and that’s really when I found my community here in Athens. When I was a child, I never really thought I’d ever fit in. I never wanted to be “girly,” so much that I didn’t even want to wear pink and shirts with frills made me nauseous (my mother was very unhappy about this). I played video games as my dolls laid untouched. I stayed up late to watch Japanese animation, and talked so much about my favorite character (InuYasha) that one of my friends printed out a photo of him with a big cross-out over his face. She was trying to ban me from talking about my love & number one crush at the time while at her house. The sad thing is, I did stop talking about him…
Still, I listened to alternative music that my father passed onto me in the form of burnt CD’s and a iPod nano. I felt a sense of pride knowing my inner world was somewhat mysterious to others, but also a bit lonely since I really only talked about my interests with one close friend.
In 8th grade, I embraced my weirdness even more and indulged in punk music and attire. I was happy that I could dye my hair the color of a firetruck, wing my black eyeliner as much as my mom would let me, and wear the skinniest skinny jeans I could find.
Everything started to change as I entered high school. Although I kept my inner compass of interest and values, my outer expression began to assimilate to the norms of my peer group. I was a varsity cheerleader, my red hair turned into blonde, and my harsh eyeliner faded into glimmery eyeshadow. I dated the school valedictorian and mastered the art of fitting in. There was a group of punks that hung out around the green transformer box. I side-eyed them as I walked by, not out of judgment, but out of admiration. I wanted to talk to them so bad. It’s funny, because even as a blonde and beautiful cheerleader, I actually felt like the uncool one. So I stayed in my little clique and quietly indulged in my interests in my alone time.
When I came to UGA, I joined a sorority. I was now entrenched in the suburbanite culture that I had always unconsciously scoffed at. This time, I was now dating a vegan, who happened to be a cannabis activist, and avid mushroom eater. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t have to fit into a mold anymore. Athens felt like my own version of Las Vegas. So, I dropped out of my sorority in order to pursue my new interests of vegan activism, yoga teaching, and expanding consciousness. Pretty soon, I stopped shaving, wearing makeup, and wearing bras. My friends and family thought I was going off the deep end, when really I was becoming comfortable with expressing myself fully forget the first time since my punk phase.
After a yoga teacher training at Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution, I started to learn the art of clowning. The unicycling, horn tooting, and public street performance made me even more comfortable embracing the “weirdness.” Embracing the weirdness means to not only accept yourself, but to broadcast it proudly and with no remorse. I started to remember a quote that I made up as a kid, before I started to master the performance of disguising my true self: “I want to be the weirdest person in the room so that everyone else can be their weirdness self, too.” So I stand here before you, and before all of Athens, proud to unabashedly toot my own horn in the face of normative culture and conservative values. And I really hope you can be weird with me, too!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road for the Pink Flamingo has been very bumpy but lucky. I am very grateful to have the support of my husband and friends as I express myself in this way. I do get nervous every time I start putting my flamingo outfit on. You might say every time I’m in costume, I’m struggling a bit. But luckily the smiles and laughs quickly melt away any stage fright. Right now, the main challenge the Pink Flamingo has is the mental health of the person behind the mask. I’ve been actively working on my trauma for the past three years and it’s been exhausting but extremely rewarding. But I’ve found that at times, its hard to imagine shedding that layer of myself momentarily in order to step out as the flamingo. I hope I can get to the point where I don’t feel I have to shed anything to bring joy to the community!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
For the past four months, I’ve been working at our local vegetarian diner, The Grit. I’ve been vegan for 6 years and have always been fan of The Grit’s amazing food and desserts. I was a frequent customer back in my college years, so I know the menu very well! I love recommending the perfect meal to our guests and cutting delicious vegan cake slices for them. This might sounds weird, but I also view this work as performance art. Fortunately for our guests, I have lots of practice in this field!
What does success mean to you?
I define success as the feeling one has when they accomplish something. It can be any small accomplishment- I think success looks different for everyone. Do I think the Pink Flamingo has been successful? Of course! Does the Pink Flamingo feel successful right now? Hmm… since I’ve been on a little bit of a hiatus, I don’t have that full and fresh feeling of accomplishment. Luckily the WILD RUMPUS PARADE AND SPECTACLE is going to be happening this year on October 30th. This parade is where Pink Flamingo first emerged. I am excited to become inspired by the hundreds of weirdos that I will encounter during the event! People around the world come to Athens for this, and you’re invited too!
Here’s the link for the Facebook event page:
https://facebook.com/events/s/
Contact Info:
- Email: pink.flamingo.athens@gmail.com
- Instagram: @pink.flamingo.athens
