Over the weekend I was in the town of Monmouth, Oregon to lead another LGBT faith outreach workshop centered around the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So. Just to put this in context, the giant billboard alongside Highway 99W just north of town proclaims in bold red letters, "POLK COUNTY IS PALIN COUNTRY." (In 2004, Polk went for Bush by 12 points.)
After the screening, we broke up into small groups for discussion. I talked about the challenges of trying to conceal my sexuality as a teenager from a born-again father. "That must have been very difficult for you," said a concerned, sympathetic older woman. Then I recalled one of my more brilliant strategies.
"Yeah. I used to hide pictures of naked women in my bedroom for my dad to find, to throw him off the trail."
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6 comments:
I am so glad my parents were only nominally religious and that I became an agnostic at 8 or 9. (I became an atheist in college.) I was spared so much trauma.
That's actually incredibly smart.
I'm inclined to agree with Joel. You were clearly a much sneakier teen than I was. ;)
that was brilliant. and funny.
it gets easier every year for gays to come out at home.
i remember when my sister was outted, very early 80's.
my folks were distraught. devastated.
i truly believe it is easier for families to accept it today.
That is very funny. Do you happen to know if it actually worked? Did your father make a habbit of sneaking through your stuff?
Well, my dad and I don't speak with a lot of candor about that period of our lives, so I don't know.
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