Out of the closet

There's nothing I like better than finding gems among the books I review. Another such is Family Outing. It's a memoir of a writer who, at the age of 10, found out his mother was a lesbian. She was outed by a jilted lover, code named Tattle Dyke.

The book is wonderfully honest and wickedly funny. What stuck with me was what the author said about why he couldn't get past his anger with his mother. It would have been harder for him to deal with his father coming out of the closet because it would have made him question his own sexuality, as his mother's sexuality affected his sister. What it all comes down to is sex.

I understand and sympathize with the gay community when they complain the whole world is geared towards heterosexuals and they shouldn't have to hide their own sexuality for anyone's comfort, and I agree -- to a point. Although the majority of the world seems to be heterosexual, it isn't quite so much about sex. Sex and the City is about sex and and many shows and movies focus on and feature sex but the heterosexual world at large isn't all about sex, and there lies the difference.

While a hot guy or a beautiful girl might stir sexual thoughts in the opposite sex the sex is not right out on the table. With homosexuals, all heterosexuals see is the sex. It becomes less about a person and more about visions of sex and thoughts of homosexual sex. In heterosexuals' minds sex is an option and when they are faced with homosexuals sex becomes the only subject. It's a mind picture you can't get rid of (no matter how much bleach or cleanse you use) -- like your parents having hot and kinky sex or any kind of sex after the children are born. Parents are supposed to be asexual -- and so are children (at least in parents' minds). We know our children are having sex (we certainly did) but thinking too much about it guarantees sleepless nights and phone calls to the psychiatrist for emergency sessions.

Whether or not you have a friend or loved one who is homosexual, Family Outing is a book everyone should read to understand both sides of the subject. It's the most honest book I've read on the subject in ages.

That is all. Disperse.