After a couple of crude jokes yesterday morning at the breakfast celebrating Mother's day I have been churning about how to write this post. One of my family members was making lewd jokes about my other family member and his sexual orientation. The reason this bothered me besides the immature crudeness of the comments was that this one joking family member is typical of what republicans are today, unaware and shallow. I have known my one family member all of his life and early on it was evident that he was much more effeminate in his mannerisms. Most all of us older family members knew that he was not going to be a manly man.
But the thing is is that he kind of surprised us when he was old enough to go out on his own by marrying a woman and having a child. In my mind it was as if he was fighting against his own nature so that he wouldn't be ostracized by those who didn't understand him or his own internal war. However, it didn't take but a few years for the marriage to end and for my family member to decide to fight for his true identity. He has since found a partner of the same sex and is in a marriage now that he finds fulfillment in.
I have been reevaluating my thinking about him since yesterday's bad jokes at his expense, he wasn't at the breakfast yesterday, and I have readjusted my perception about him not being a manly man. Because the courage it took for him to not only fight against his own nature and marry a woman so that he could "fit in" with society's expectations was remarkable. Then the courage it took for him to stop the marriage to the woman knowing that he couldn't be the true love of her life no matter how hard he tried. Against all those who snicker and tell bad jokes at his expense he doesn't care. He is living his dream and the idea that he wasn't/isn't a manly man only works if you discount his nature and think like a petty person who thinks they can know who someone else is just by looking at them.
But the thing is is that he kind of surprised us when he was old enough to go out on his own by marrying a woman and having a child. In my mind it was as if he was fighting against his own nature so that he wouldn't be ostracized by those who didn't understand him or his own internal war. However, it didn't take but a few years for the marriage to end and for my family member to decide to fight for his true identity. He has since found a partner of the same sex and is in a marriage now that he finds fulfillment in.
I have been reevaluating my thinking about him since yesterday's bad jokes at his expense, he wasn't at the breakfast yesterday, and I have readjusted my perception about him not being a manly man. Because the courage it took for him to not only fight against his own nature and marry a woman so that he could "fit in" with society's expectations was remarkable. Then the courage it took for him to stop the marriage to the woman knowing that he couldn't be the true love of her life no matter how hard he tried. Against all those who snicker and tell bad jokes at his expense he doesn't care. He is living his dream and the idea that he wasn't/isn't a manly man only works if you discount his nature and think like a petty person who thinks they can know who someone else is just by looking at them.
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