Last Monday Salon published “Is that my son wearing a dress?: I’m a progressive, supportive dad. Why was I so troubled by the sight of my little boy dressed as Snow White?,” which ended with Matt Cheplic insisting he is fine with his son cross-dressing, but other people might have a problem with it. (“But why? Did I see the dress as a threat to my legacy, an insult to generations of men who fought wars and presided over propane grills? No, I honestly don’t believe that a 4-year-old’s Halloween costume has the power to cement his sexual identity for life. I was not threatened by fears of a same-sex, vegan wedding ceremony or a rejection of power tools and the Super Bowl. A far more immediate evil loomed in my magic mirror: children who mock other children.”) Today, Salon published “Why does my son keep coming out to me?: My 16-year-old tells me he’s gay. Is it the truth, or a side effect of his recent brain injury?,” where Drema Dial wonders whether her teenage son might be gay because after being a “healthy 16-year-old” he was hit by a minivan while on his bike and landed in a medically induced coma. Or rather, she wonders whether he continues coming out to her, repeatedly, as if he never told her before, because of his brain injury. One of these things make sense.
Wyatt
Sigh. Leave it to a women’s fashion magazine to provide facepalm after facepalm of ignorant and illogical opinion.
L.
In fairness to Salon.com, the second piece was first published in their “web 2.0” readers’ blog bit.
In fairness to everyone else, Salon.com has been going down the drain for a fair while now. Short of getting my weekly fix of Tom Tomorrow, I certainly don’t feel any need to visit anymore.
ktbisl32
Actually, the first article about the Halloween costume is pretty well written and is more about addressing the idea of outsider than a perspective on sexuality or cross dressing.
whiz
@Wyatt: Cute. Not a single whiff of sexism in that comment. Male centered and directed fashion magazines are just as vapid and shallow. Instead- why not comment on the shallowness of such frivolous bullshit as ‘hip new hairstyles’ and what fucking floral print is in or what polka dotted crap is out, etc.
ktbisl32
Did anyone read any of these articles? Seriously? The second is written by a lesbian woman and the article details how her son keeps forgetting he’s coming out to her, but she doesn’t really care either way. How is this an example of bigotry?
s_b
@Wyatt: Um… salon.com isn’t a women’s fashion magazine.
Jon
@ktbisl32: Thanks for being the voice of reason and actually reading these articles. People should really get the facts first before opening their big mouths.
Jeffree
@Whiz : It’s not a fashion magazine– “salon” in this sense refers to a literary salon. Think of Gertrude Stein hosting readings and discussions of literature & art & politics at her apartment in Paris.
(Hi Jason!)
John
The second article is problematic. How can a brain damaged 16 year-old kid consent to allow his mother to post such intimate details on his recovery/personal life?
I find it disgusting.
whiz
@Jeffree: Der. Wyatt referred to it as one first. Try to keep up, buddy.
Jeffree
@Whiz: Sorry — you’re right. My post should have been directed at Wyatt.
Chris
Those were both fantastic pieces on the inner workings of these two people’s minds.
Both extremely poignant, with tough mixtures of happy and sad.
Andy
Jesus Christ, are the QUEERTY editors incapable of basic reading comprehension? Have they been hit by a minivan?