I'm From Driftwood

[methodwriter85]

The great site where GLBT people shared their stories(inlcuding myself) now has video entries, which are being posted on Youtube. Here's one I really liked:

 

I wish I could have had a retort like that when I was 14/15 years old. That was such a great burn!

 

It really is a great site- I love learning about the varying ways people deal with being GLBT.

 

Which poses a question- I'm curious to know. What age were you when you finally became comfortable with your sexuality, and was there any singular moment where that happened? Or was it a series of long events?

 

For me, it was when I was 17. I had been dealing in varying degrees with my sexuality since coming out to various people at 14 and 15, but I was still at some unease with my sexuality. At the time, there was this popular TV show called Queer As Folk. To me, it seemed to paint a portrait that being gay meant becoming a tweaking circuit boi who had lots of random sex with random strangers, and having to live in some secluded urban gayborhood with the Meat Locker as our hang out. It didn't really appeal to me at all.

 

Then in the winter of '03, I saw a community theater production of the Laramie Project. It was a pretty touching play. Then I walked over to Peace of Pizza on Mainstreet, which was this hippie-themed pizza place. As I was eating, I noticed these two cute college guys. One was this preppy blond wearing a grey turtleneck sweater and a black leather jacket. The other was a skater boy dressed in black. I noticed that on the black knit cap of the skater boy, there was a rainbow mushroom. I got pretty excited because I knew that meant he had to be gay.

 

When those two men leaned over and kissed each other simply on the mouths...god. I had never seen anything like that in my life- all the gay guys I had run into in real life were either circuit bois or screaming queens that starred in the school musicals. Essentially, they were either oversexed like Brian on Queer as Folk or sexless like Jack on Will and Grace. Here were two normal-looking college guys, on a simple pizza date like any other normal, cash-strapped college couple.

 

Gay guys could date. They could be open about being who they were in places other than the Castro District in San Francisco. They didn't have to become tweaking circuit bois if they didn't want to. They didn't have to seclude themselves in gayborhoods- they could be a part of mainstream society, and no one would bat an eye.

 

When I realized that, I realized that I didn't have lose anything or become something I didn't want to be in order to be a gay guy. I've been coming to the realization lately that 17 was on the young side for coming to terms with one's alternative sexuality, and for that which I'm extremely grateful.

 

So anybody want to share a story?

 

 

[Tipdin]

Coming to grips with being gay took me a while, I was in my twenties. After a long series of events culminating in an suicide attempt that resulted in a week-long coma, I got some very good counseling.

[Steve3]

 

I've been watching "Driftwood" on YouTube for about 5 months. Truly an achievement in documenting the LGBT experience.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/ImFromDriftwood

 

Steve³

[Raijen]

Hmm... I came out at fifteen and was kicked out of my home for about half an hour before my mom came flying down the road, hissing at me to get into the vehicle. After spending the next few years dealing with religious bigotry, I eventually got out on my own for a while before I had a breakdown and moved back in with my parents (yeah, stupid, I know).

 

Really, it's just been the last few months that I've started being okay with who I am as a person. It took me a while to realize that I could just be me; stereotypes do not have to be filled in order to be "truly gay" (as my family liked to imply... "Your room is a mess. Gay guys are fastidiously clean. You can't be gay"). In fact, I've had a lot of fun over the last few months just doing what feels right to me, if it means wearing a particular color that makes me happy or going for a walk alone through town.

 

I think that a lot of the social pressure isn't entirely focused on LGBT, per se, but more on people who don't fit stereotypes. I know it sounds weird, but as I become more comfortable with who I am as a person, the more aware I become that several people are still uncomfortable with themselves, regardless of orientation. It makes me wonder if there is a conspiracy against differences lol.