Is it OK to be Homiesexual?
Young men acting gay online and IRL are claiming to be homiesexual
It started with, “I love you,” I overheard my teenage son say to one of his friends. It seemed like an intense display of emotion for having only known this friend for a few months, but I was encouraged that he felt comfortable enough with his male peer to convey his feelings.
When I glimpsed him and his guy friend holding hands in the patty-cake position, their faces inches apart, I thought, how cute they are being affectionate with one another. That kind of affection definitely would not have happened between the boys in my junior high growing up. Other than the occasional whap on the butt for a deft move during sports, any form of male affection was considered, “gay,” and socially intolerable.
About a week later, I noticed the friends on my son’s contact list had names like, “daddy,” “baby,” and “hottie.” They had labeled their group chat, The Lowkey Gays. I was curious about the flirtatious labels and particularly that it was a group of them.
During dinner, I asked, “What’s up with calling each other these nicknames?”
Oh, that’s just how we talk to each other. We’re not gay, we’re homiesexual, he said, then forked another…
