Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Gay Step-brother

iceburn · 10-18-2004, 02:11 PM

There's nothing wrong with being gay, there's just a problem with the awkward tension of the whole thing. I understand what feelgood's saying. No matter how comfortable you feel around gay folks, there's always an uncomfortable dynamic of an in-the-closet gay child and the rest of the family. nobody wants to come out and say "hey, you're gay" and the child senses that and feels uncomfortable himself. Then everyone feels uncomfortable.

A younger brother of my best friend was showing signs early on. Jonathan Brandis (seaquest) posters all over the walls, then a fascination with Liza Minnelli/Bette Midler. It was so obvious he was gay, but for years, there was no acknowledgement from him or the rest of the family that he was gay. That makes for a really uncomfortable environment. At some point gay porn was discovered. Then I leant my friend this book called "the joy of sex" and the brother had covertly stuck post-its throughout it asking if the brother would teach him about sex/rent a porno and have a "mutual masturbation" (his words). Lastly, and this is only for shock value, my friend went to use the scanner, and a cached version of the last scanned image was STRADDLE VIEW OF HIS BROTHER'S TAAAAAAAAIIINNNNNT!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHOO!

ok, So, the situation is such that the parents are the adults, and should accept that their [step]son is gay and try to promote an environment where it's accepted. He should be treated just like the other two, and not given special treatment -- hypothetically, like not getting his ass kicked by cows -- because he's gay, or acts gay, or whatever. I think it's been almost ten years since the Jonathan Brandis posters, and friend's-little-brother is still in the closet with the father. It just sort of makes for this lingering tension that never goes away.

but, feelgood, if you're *scared* of the kid's flamboyancy, you should understand that it's your problem more than his, and everyone's only going to feel comfortable once everyone else gets over it and meets him halfway.

10-18-2004, 02:11 PM	#37 (permalink)
iceburn Tilted Location: CT	There's nothing wrong with being gay, there's just a problem with the awkward tension of the whole thing. I understand what feelgood's saying. No matter how comfortable you feel around gay folks, there's always an uncomfortable dynamic of an in-the-closet gay child and the rest of the family. nobody wants to come out and say "hey, you're gay" and the child senses that and feels uncomfortable himself. Then everyone feels uncomfortable. A younger brother of my best friend was showing signs early on. Jonathan Brandis (seaquest) posters all over the walls, then a fascination with Liza Minnelli/Bette Midler. It was so obvious he was gay, but for years, there was no acknowledgement from him or the rest of the family that he was gay. That makes for a really uncomfortable environment. At some point gay porn was discovered. Then I leant my friend this book called "the joy of sex" and the brother had covertly stuck post-its throughout it asking if the brother would teach him about sex/rent a porno and have a "mutual masturbation" (his words). Lastly, and this is only for shock value, my friend went to use the scanner, and a cached version of the last scanned image was STRADDLE VIEW OF HIS BROTHER'S TAAAAAAAAIIINNNNNT!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOO! ok, So, the situation is such that the parents are the adults, and should accept that their [step]son is gay and try to promote an environment where it's accepted. He should be treated just like the other two, and not given special treatment -- hypothetically, like not getting his ass kicked by cows -- because he's gay, or acts gay, or whatever. I think it's been almost ten years since the Jonathan Brandis posters, and friend's-little-brother is still in the closet with the father. It just sort of makes for this lingering tension that never goes away. but, feelgood, if you're scared of the kid's flamboyancy, you should understand that it's your problem more than his, and everyone's only going to feel comfortable once everyone else gets over it and meets him halfway. __________________ ... and shit.