Lez Keep It Real

Today’s Come Out & Play post spotlights Brothers and Sisters.

Brothers and sisters are known to have an indissoluble bond. They rely on each other in the most difficult of times and yet, torment each other to no end during the awkward years of adolescence.

I have two brothers: a twin and an older brother. My twin and I have always been close. There were the “growing pain” years, as I like to call them, during middle school and high school where we needed to carve out our own identity for a bit because everything we had gone through up to then had been encountered hip by hip. Other than those years, however, we’ve been insanely close. And I love him for that. He’s been there for me in ways I can’t even begin to describe, though I have tried.

That is why I was scared to death to tell him I was gay. I fabricated his reaction in mind over and over again until it became this three-headed monster I couldn’t ignore. I don’t know why I expected him to react so poorly, but I guess when we are coming out we all have these preconceived ideas about our friends and family that influence the way in which we think they are going to react.

I’m happy to say that I was wrong. When I told him, he simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

During the conversation, I had built up to such a climax that he said, “I thought you were going to say you pregnant!”

Needless to say, our bond is stronger than ever. He is one of my biggest supporters. My older brother is too. I couldn’t have asked for two better siblings. In fact, I plan on asking both of them to stand up with me at my wedding.

It doesn’t get much better than that.

For the sisters out there, I didn’t overlook you. I found this coming out story on HRC.org from Dawn of Santa Barbara, CA.

When I told my sister I was a lesbian, I was 14 years old and she was 10. She was outwardly supportive. That is, at least she did not hate me. Over time, I came to know that she was seriously confused. She did not really believe in homosexuality. She had decided that it was really just me being weird as usual. My sister and I talked often about it. Eventually, she began to realize that perhaps it was not so strange, especially with the way my mom was totally supporting me. She met many of my friends, who are also gay, and was totally scared by them all. But as time went by, she began to accept them. I soon found out that she had become a sort of peer counselor to friends that were struggling with their sexuality. She was able to tell them that her sister was gay, so she understood by association what they were going through. Now she is writing a persuasive essay for a class on why gay marriage should be legal. I am so proud of her. I have often told her that I look up to her, my little sister.

“Brother and sister,
together as friends,
ready to face
whatever life sends.
Joy and laughter
or tears and strife,
holding hands tightly
as we dance through life.”
~ Suzie Huitt

Tune in every Friday for the Come Out & Play series, featuring coming out stories of celebrities, every day people, personal reflections, advice, tid bits and everything else concerning the complicated world of coming out!

Got an interesting coming out story to tell? Contact me and I will feature it in an upcoming post of Come Out & Play.

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