It's pride festival weekend in my home town. And while I cannot attend due to a prior commitment, I have always supported it and will continue to do so. Especially given the current times.
This is a true story, and I'm not sure if the ending could be considered happy or sad. Once, I met a man and his family. They were selling their house and upgrading to a larger place, so their two kids wouldn't have to share a bedroom. I was just a kid looking to buy a house. So I met him and his family, so he could show me the place. He was super friendly, funny and outgoing. He showed me the flower garden where he meticulously grew all kinds of beautiful flowers, and pointed out the flower arrangement on the wall that he had created. He grew lavender, which he said was his favorite color. His wife thought he was a sensuous, sensitive man and a good father to his kids, and a good husband to her. He treated her like a queen and wanted the best for his family.
Nonetheless, I could sense that something was wrong. Not with his marriage or his family, but with him. He was, clearly, not a manly man. Didn't own a big truck or a Harley Davidson, didn't watch football, didn't like hard rock. Now, a lot of guys don't, nothing necessarily tell-tale about that. But, just in his mannerisms, he was one of the most effeminate men I had ever seen. He even sometimes talked with the telltale lisp.
He loved his wife, and was emotionally attracted to her, but clearly, was not physically attracted to her. Not in the way that would make his sex life fulfilling or satisfying. Perhaps, deep down, she could sense something was wrong, too. Remember, at that time and place, it was considered not okay to admit to loving members of the same sex. Particularly if you were from a small town, word would get out, your life could be ruined, and you could lose your job. Even today, my state gives no protections against GLBT people as far as discrimination. So I don't know what, or how much she suspected. Only that, about 8 years later, I ran into her, as they had only moved a few blocks away. And she had been devastated when he left her- and NOT for a woman.
For nearly 20 years, he had been living a lie. Trying to force himself into a box where he didn't fit. Though he was happy with his new husband, I wish I could say the ending was happy for everyone, because he left behind a broken family, trying to fit into that box for all those years. Perhaps he stayed with her long, hoping those sexual feelings he had would go away, that he would "overcome the temptation to sin" as I'm sure he was told. Or, perhaps he didn't want to hurt her or his family, or perhaps he didn't want to face judgement.
Either way, I am glad that, even if it's only for just this weekend, people can have a chance to celebrate who they are and feel liberated to be what they are. I wish love and acceptance for GLBT people would persist year round, and people could feel free to be what they are year round, and tragedies like this man and his family, did not have to happen anymore.
Happy Pride Week.