jacec%bbncca@pur-ee.ARPA (Henry Mensch) (05/01/85)
This is, for me, a most interesting discussion. When I came
out two years ago, the only role model I had was the person (who is
still a good friend of mine) who was seen as the loudest, screamingest
queen of Syracuse University. When one speaks of the "gay culture," I
imagine that Eric <the aforementioned person> introduced me to most of
this.
Up until recently, I didn't have a role model for a
relationship ... six weeks ago I left my fraternity house (under
duress .. film at eleven) and was fortunate to find a room with my
current roommate <who had just tossed out his other, more incorrigible
roommate) Mike (my roommate) and Chris (his lover) have been involved
in a relationship for just over five months now. There are those of
you, I'm sure, who scoff at this but for Lafayette (the original
one-night-stand town) this is excellent.
It's rather unusual, though, that I didn't have anybody to
look at as a role model until I went to university. I grew up in New
York City (if you've read *Boys on the Rock*, you've read about my
neighborhood and two of the high schools I chose not to attend) and,
aside from what is presented through the mass media, there was no
visible gay person. Unless, of course, one counted my cousin Raymond.
He was never seen and never discussed (of course!) :-)
I think that perhaps most gays get their role models from what
they read ... most of the so-called "classics" present a variety of
role models ... the nicest surprise for me was learning that Dave
Kopay and I are fraternity brothers (for those who think that faggots
and frats don't mix ... BTW, somebody said this to me just some time
ago).
I've digressed enough, I guess.
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Henry C. Mensch | User Confuser | Purdue University User Services
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"Alive with Pride in '85!"