How Obvious a Gayling Were You?

You could spot me from space.

I show up on home movies (circa 1960) at age 5 acting and looking like a proto-Prince George.

r1 Did you think you were hiding it?

Actually, I learned to hide it, r3. Up until I was 10, I was very femme but as I was shoved into Christian schools and environments, I had to butch up or get beaten.

In little league, I was doing cartwheels in the outfield. so I'd say pretty obvious.

I was a complete non-athletic boy and always very self conscious about it. I didn’t attach the label gay to myself until I was 12, but I was afraid of being labeled girly. By 1st grade I began hiding in the role of smart nerd. But when I was age 4-5 I enjoyed getting on my tiptoes putting my hands above my head and fluttering about as I said “Look I’m a ballerina!” And I also occasionally belted out “Hey Big Spender” around the same age. Not the butchest actions.

Some time ago, at a family gathering, someone hauled out a few reels of home movies. I was mortified by my 7 or 8 year old self. And I’m still stinging from the memory of lingering a little bit too long at the Barbie doll display at W.T. Grant’s, observed by some scumbag who said “Look at the fairy” to his white trash girlfriend.

Awww R7, that redneck was secretly jealous HE couldn't linger at the Barbie display.

I was called "faggot" a few times in middle school and high school, but never in a way that made me think the person saying it really thought I was gay. Now I wonder if they did.

it got bad 12-17 until I learned to" butch it up" out of shear terror, which I still do to this day. I take it as a compliment, right or wrong when someone doesn't suspect I am gay

In the third grade, I did a report on my antique doll collection.

I grew up in a hardcore redneck family ,but was always so femme it never really was much of an issue . Until I hit puberty and discovered sex ! though my father tried at times to involve me in butch activities,I simply wasnt having it and invariably ended up playing dolls with my girl cousins. Its long been my belief that if it always IS , even the most white trash families are resigned to it . My grandma said she knew when I was 3 .

I see that it’s time for our annual “Dialing the Phone with a Pencil“ thread! Well, hello. Welcome new subscribers. Enjoy!

Has anybody ever actually dialed a phone with a pencil?

R14 - I used to when I was 6 back in 1973.

I could never hide my flames.

I'm 26 so maybe dialing a phone was a different thing for me growing up :)

After watching a commercial for the Easy Bake oven during after school commercials with my grandmother (around 1975 so I was 5), I asked her for one. My birthday was coming up. She laughed, "Those are for girls!" as she dangled an extra-long brown More cigarette from her thin, boney fingers.

All I wanted to do was bake cakes. I still loved her though. RIP granny.

I owned 15 sweaters.

I thought I was the business in my tight pink shorts when I was 9.

If you understand that a miserable child is one with secrets, then I was obvious. Oh, yes. And my Barbie and Ken and G.I.Joe. I threw Barbie in the toy box, but Ken and G.I. Joe always slept together naked in the same carrying case. This was Kindergarten and the primary grades. I don't know if anyone was watching these things, but I undressed them and stowed them together very deliberately.

I finally came out in 1972. In the midwest. Not to my mother, of course. I was only 16. My mother really was great, but she wasn't ready to take that on and I wasn't ready to deal with her dealing with me. I got a few silver bangle bracelets and some bell bottoms and some platform shoes and a shoulder bag and off I went to flounce through the mall, seething with disdain for just about everything and dreaming of the day I could get out of there. Oh, and the High School Drama Club. Mustn't forget that.

All of that makes me obviously gay or a typical 16 year old. You are free to decide for yourselves.

When I was in fifth grade, we were reading a book called the Christmas Fairy. My teacher decided to turn it into a play for our school Christmas pageant. I tried out for the lead role, the fairy. When my teacher gave the role to a much less talented girl, I pitched a total Mary fit until the teacher relented and gave me the role.

My sheltered young self soon learned that being a ten year old boy fairy would lead to ridicule and bullying. And that was just the parents at the pageant. I wish now I had video of my ten year old self wearing that sparkly white gown, with wings and a wand with a snowflake for the tip.

I was on the high school quiz bowl team and they aired our matches on the local CBS station. We won our first match and I was on fire on the buzzer. Our second match was going well until.....the question. The moderator said, “Finish this nursery rhyme. There once was a girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very good........”

I responded with the only version I had ever heard. I said “When she was good, she was very good. But when she was bad she was even better.”

I have no idea how that Mae West line got in my head, but the moderator had to stop filming for about ten minutes because he was giggling too hard.

OMG R11. In sixth grade did a report about my antique egg beater collection!

That took guts, r21. I admire that. How long before the fairy dust and ridicule wore away?

Let’s see R24

I’m 52 now, so never.

I was a fat teen and hated sports, but was otherwise undetectable.

My first word was "MARY"!!

Me too R26. Being fat was a great excuse for not dating girls and I realized years later also a great way to keep me from chasing after other guys.

For the first six years of school, all of my friends were girls. I was the only boy that sat at the girl table, during lunch. All of the staff knew me.

R29

I played hopscotch and tether ball with the girls during recess and never played with the boys when I was 6 or 7...until the school counselor forced a meeting with him, my parents and me. He said I needed to play with the boys or I would be teased my entire life. He made sure I stuck to that too.

I started playing sports with the boys and actually enjoyed it. Turns out I was a better athlete than any of them and I got to “rough house” with the boys.

I had a huge poster of Marilyn Monroe on my wall and wore glitter gel on my eyes and baby barrettes in my hair. Soooo....yah.

Kids who seemed gay were mercilessly mocked in school, and I avoided all of that. You learn to cover, I guess.

is having a marilyn monroe poster (any kind) at any age on the wall, a HUGE telltale sign of gaydom?

i mean it's not like having big ole judy garland or streisand poster on the wall is it?

is it a sign of gaydom if you have movie posters framed on your walls or depends on what movies?..i mean one could be a straight film buff right?

I threw a sissy fit at Costco when my mom would not buy me a Pink “Missundaztood” cd. She must have known

I would always choose to play as Princess Peach in Mario Kart.

R33, Miss Marilyn in a tutu on the wall of a teenage kid with glitter and barrettes in his hair...I bet nobody was on to me.

Very obvious from the time I could start forming sentences. For instance, I was given a doll, who I named Kathy, when I was probably 3 or 4 and my grandmother made clothes for her. Everyone knew.

You can't hide so much wonderfulness and I love being a gay man. Every day is like Christmas.

R22

MARY!

I just peed myself a little laughing.

Not sure when I reached the point of Undeniable Gayling....

(1) Putting a terry cloth towel on my head to pretend I was Cher

(2) My friend and I, at age 7 or 8, dressing as old ladies for Halloween (yep, he's a big Mary too)

(3) Covering my bedroom walls with photos of Boy George and Annie Lennox

(4) Doing my 10th grade poetry book report and presentation of the lyrics of the Go-Go's

Just about everyone knew I was gay before I even knew it was a thing. Unfortunately my traditional and religious Latino family made my childhood a living hell because they thought they could punish and pray the homo out of me, but that didn’t stop me from preferring to play with my female cousins, wanting traditionally girly toys, and displaying feminine mannerisms.

My mother damn near had a heart attack when I officially came out at 15. I guess she was hoping that I was just a girly het

No one could tell, OP.

I was, as they say, undetectable.

Some things never change.

Dear Santa,

I would like a doll and a baton.

r39 wrote the book to Head Over Heels in 10th grade!

I was totally undetectable. I was what they used to call a "rough and tumble" kind of kid. I enjoyed starting fights with guys I didn't like and won 98% of the time. I embarrassed my mom, I think more than she would have been embarrassed if I'd been a little queen. I couldn't help it. I was a tough little fucker.

I remember being at our aunt and uncle's place and they had two girls (my cousins) about my age. Their folks had given them one of those doll houses with a removable side so you could see all the rooms, the furniture and the cool family who lived in the house...mother, father and about 3 kids or so. I happened to have my plastic dart gun with me, so I lined up the whole family and assassinated them with rubber darts. I did this several times until my cousins got upset and went crying to their mom. That was the only time I ever played with dolls, lol.

As a gradeschool kid I built elaborate cities for my stuffed animals out of discarded cardboard boxes. When I was 10 or 11 I went to an outdoor block party in my neighborhood wearing a salmon-colored button down under a cream sweater vest, and did a backwards somersault while disco dancing to the music. I suspect even early 80s satellite technology could pick me out from space. I transitioned into quieter nerd-dom in my junior high and high school years , but how anyone who knew me before my teens could delude themselves that there was any chance I'd turn out to be heterosexual is a mystery to me.

I had girlfriends. What were they thinking?

R44 Are you one of those rare Dom Tops?

Not obvious at all. My family had no clue.

Not obvious at all. My family had no clue.

Not obvious at all. My family had no clue.

How the fuck did that happen

I had a Nifty Notebook

For my 16th birthday, I asked for - and got! - Judy's Carnegie Hall album.

Slam dunk GAY!

These are my favorite threads. Hugs to you all!

My father says he knew when I was about five that something was different, I ran and threw balls differently, I watched soaps with my mother and sisters, my closest friends were girls. When I was 10, I was obsessed with Cyndi Lauper and Joan Rivers. I was already sticking things up my butt when I was 12. By that point, everyone knew.

When I was 15 I asked for and received for Christmas the Cabaret soundtrack, and I played it night and day for as long as I could remember. But I think my parents were oblivious and never made the connection.

But later that year, when I had my first boyfriend, and he was a bit effeminate, boy did they figure it out then.

My sister says she should have known when in about 1968-I was 5-I was quite put out by all the radio air time Vikki Carr was getting compared to my then-adored Dionne Warwick. Other than that, not much until my teens when everyone noticed how FABULOUS the Christmas tree looked after I decorated it.

I cried when my parents refused to let me watch the HBO broadcast of Madonna's Blond Ambition tour in 1990. I was 10. The "Like a Virgin" controversy they saw in the news was too much and so I was forbidden from watching it. You do the math.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table when I was about 10, making theatrical costumes for my various puppets out of my mother's sewing remnants. At one point, my mother looked up at the clock and said, "You'd better put those things away now. Your father will be home soon." So she had figured it out, obviously, and didn't care. But she knew my father would.

Gurl, I was braiding and french braiding poison ivy vines in the boy scouts.

My nephew was about five years old and we were preparing for a holiday dinner. We took a peek in the dining room and when he saw the fancifully set a table, including candle sticks and linen napkins, his reaction was to say "it's dazzling!" Right then and there I knew we had another little gayling in the family, but of course I could only tell certain people about it, because you know how straights often are, they think that becoming gay somehow magically happens on your 18th birthday.

Of course, he did turn out to be gay; my gaydar was accurate in recognizing a kindred spirit, even at his young age.

An interesting post script to the story: he was a nephew by marriage, and after I moved away when he was still young, I did not see him too often and I was not around when he finally came out to his family, in his early 20s. I finally caught up with him at a family funeral not too long ago, and we discussed his coming out.

He told me he was very hesitant and afraid to do it but then said himself, uncle Michael (me) is an attorney, and his partner uncle Danny is a police officer, and everyone knows they're together, and they're loved by the family and the world did not come to an end, so why should he be worried about coming out. And he finally did, surprising no one except his mother (hope springs eternal).

I was happy to hear that story, and proud that I could be a positive influence on him, even at a great distance and over many years.

R61 bless you.

Fabulous R48!

when i was a kid (before puberty hit) i played with dolls, but they were the justice league dolls (superman, aquaman, batman, wonder woman, etc) and i got them to fight each other because i was a HUGE comic book reader.. did/does it matter that it was still dolls and regardless if they were male and female ones?...

course i also remember at the time begging my father to buy me this great illustrated book of the movie snow white at the time, begging him until he eventually bought it for me.. don't know if it was because he was confused as to why i wanted this book or because it was too expensive?..

R55 gays throw balls differently? Some are pro athletes. A little conversion therapy at five might have worked

Doing the Wonder Woman twirl with my best friend Justin in a London school playground c. 1978.

^^^We had a thread last year and I think we established that WW was a gateway for gaylings to come out.

Sorry I missed that thread, R67.

I had no idea I was gay then, aged 10, although the flames must have been visible from outer space.

In eighth grade PE class, a jock caught me singing "I Feel Pretty" to myself. Also (and earlier), when I was in second grade, the principal of my elementary school called my mother up to his office to tell her I was gay. This was Iowa in 1968, so I am guessing it was rather obvious. Twenty-five years later (when I finally came out to my parents and first heard this story), I told my mother, "Why, yes, at the age of 7, I had made that lifestyle choice."

When I was in elementary school I was obsessed with She-Ra and Jem. In high school my bedroom mirror was covered with pictures of Keanu Reeves and George Clooney. My friends were mostly girls. I wore Cucumber and Melon body mist from Bath and Body Works. Halloween was always an excuse to dress in drag. I honestly think my family would have been more shocked if I came out as straight.

There's a reason they played the Wonder Woman theme when the queens in [italic]To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar[/italic] are giving their motel room a magic makeover.

[quote] I remember sitting at the kitchen table when I was about 10, making theatrical costumes for my various puppets out of my mother's sewing remnants. At one point, my mother looked up at the clock and said, "You'd better put those things away now. Your father will be home soon." So she had figured it out, obviously, and didn't care. But she knew my father would.[/quote]

Smart moms know that having a gay son means they'll always be well taken care of and have entertaining company in their twilight years.

Summer camp, June 1969. I was 12.

One afternoon during swimming time I must've forgotten something in the cabin because I was walking alone up the hill to the boys' section. Walking down the hill was another camper who stopped and said to me 'Did you hear? Judy Garland died'.

I stood there, not saying a word. He must've mistaken my stunned silence for confusion, because he said 'Judy Garland? The Wizard of Oz?' I distinctly remember putting one hand on my hip and spewing at him: 'I KNOW who Judy Garland is!'

To this day I have no idea who that other kid was, nor do I know how he heard about Garland's death. It's not like we had the morning paper delivered or there was an Internet, although I suppose he could've heard on someone's radio. I wish I'd been more aware of my budding gayness, I could've had a little gay buddy at camp.

I was so clueless that I didn't figure out why I was so obsessed with seeing my fellow campers naked. I just thought I was 'going through a phase'.

R72, I was also 12 that summer. I heard Judy's death announced on the TODAY Show. I still remember it.

I cried so hard I couldn't go to summer school that day.

I was 13 that summer. And I was devastated when Judy died. I LOVED the Wizard of Oz, of course. I’ve seen it a million times and can — and do — quote almost the entire script from heart. Did I cry when I heard that Judy had died, Yeah, quite likely.

Looking back now on growing up, people should have been able to see the gayness from space. I am the third child and only boy. I was closer to my mother than my father. I detested sports, and loved musicals. I was a voracious reader because it seemed like wonderful escapism other worlds. When I was 10 years old I started collecting antiques.

My mother used to do a little light decorating around the house for each holiday, like Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s, Easter, Halloween, and of course Christmas. When I was eight I started taking over the decorating, and, of course took it to a gay level almost immediately. Christmas was over the top. I had my own little Christmas tree and my own crèche set up in my room.

Interestingly, my two best friends in grade school also were gay, though they came out years later. And, yes, we mostly hung out with girls. Same in high school. The gays — without saying anything — gravitated toward each other. None of us came out until after high school, yet we had found ourselves in the same friends group.

I was a skinny little thing, and the bullying was quite real both in the neighborhood (there was one asshole kid who lived across the street who delighted in being a bully), and in school. As a result, I think that I tried — with varying degrees of success — to suppress as much as possible exhibiting my gayness.

When Princess Diana died, I......well, I SCREAMED.

[quote] When I was 10 years old I started collecting antiques.

Interesting that you mention this.

In 6th grade (the term before the 'Judy summer') our school near San Francisco had a new teacher. A lovely woman, originally from rural Colorado. One of her projects was for us to have a pen pal from her old school back in CO. She paired me up with a nice guy and we started writing to each other. We really didn't have all that much in common, and the 'relationship' didn't last past the end of the term.

But one thing I do remember is that he was into finding and refurbishing antiques. This didn't interest me at all, I was much more into listening to my Broadway albums and going downtown to visit the big department stores. Sanding and painting sounded too much like the work around the house my father would make me do on Saturdays ('But, Daaaaad, can't we pleeeeease do this another time? The stores close at 5:30, you know!),

Looking back, I wonder if my teacher saw the two of us as kindred spirits and that's why she matched us up.

I spoke in a register that set everyone’s teeth on edge.

They announced Judy Garland's death on television as I was walking by. I shrieked, then fainted dead away.

I was seven.

Judy Garland died on a Sunday, the day after my final performance as the Scarecrow in a children's theater production of "The Wizard of Oz."

R78

I can remember sashaying around the pool at my family's farm, wearing a shower cap. I was a somewhere between 10 and 12. Definitely gayling.

I absolutely lived for the airing of "The Wizard of Oz" on TV every spring. I liked and played sports, but I also loved the movies. I remember being sick once, when the Super Bowl was on. The rest of the family was downstairs watching the game. Since I was sick, I was allowed to be in my parent's bedroom, where they had a TV. I watched "Lifeboat" that day. When I saw my first Broadway Show at 12 in 1975 ("Chicago:" Saturday matinee), I fell in love with the theatre. Gayling signs? I don't know.

The crush I had at thirteen on my 23 year-old tennis coach sealed the deal. He was 6'3 inches tall with dark brown hair, good-looking, and he was built like Christopher Reeve. Honest to God, I fell in love with him. He had travelled. I loved history. He had been to the Soviet Union, and he would tell me about the places where he had gone. He was so nice to me. So patient. I followed him around all summer. The last time I saw him was when I was 14 or 15. Unfortunately, I think I was embarrassed by how I had felt at 13. It's rotten how homophobia works. A young straight boy might one day tell the woman who was his first crush about how he felt about her at 13. My 15 year old self was ashamed about my first crush because he was a man.

I googled him up recently. He's married, has grown kids, and up until at least a few years ago, he was a VP at a magazine company in NY. Saw some pictures on Flickr. He's still gorgeous, but now with shorter gray hair. Still with that build though!

Surefire signs of a fledgling gayling in the late 80s/early 90s:

A Phantom mask on the wall

and

Any sort of Asian fans on the wall

r80 If I could give you more than one W&W for that pic, I would. I'm still chuckling after 10 minutes. Thanks for lightening up a dreary day.

R83 You're welcome! I really felt that I needed to honor R78 with something more!!!

My brother and I both got Thingmakers one Christmas when we were 7 & 6, respectively. His was "Creepy Crawlers." Mine was "Fun Flowers."

At around 9 or 10 I once asked my grandmother what she was making for dessert. She said, "Don't worry, it'll be elegant." This, more than anything, tells you all you need to know about what set me apart from the other boys.

As a freshman in high school, I was cast as Beverly Carlton in the Drama Club's mainstage production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner."

Gay, gay, gay.

R81 grew up rich.

I hadn't thought about collecting antiques (or "antiques") as a kid in forever, but a childhood friend's mom got me started on rummage sales early and I bought, among other things, an old miniature grandfather clock and an oil lamp as a kid. As an adult I tend more toward flea markets, but the basic premise is the same.

I was a young teenager, and after seeing the movie Cabaret, i went around saying "divinely decadent" for the longest time, even in situations where it really didn't apply. I just loved the way it rolled off my tongue.

What have you found, R88?

Mainly decorative stuff like vases, planters, mantelpiece clocks, birdcages, and such. My biggest haul was a man's wardrobe from the 1880s that came in very handy when I lived in an old apartment with minimal usable closet space for several years.

I also bought a battery-powered stuffed animal puppy as a gift for a friend's toddler that nearly caused me to wreck a car full of passengers on the expressway when it suddenly decided to activate and start barking.

R91, when you typed "vases" I really hope in your head you said it as "vah-ses."

No, these are more housewife home crafting projects than irreplaceable objets d'art. One is a giant ceramic strawberry. They don't deserve the fancy pronunciation.

Many years ago, for my birthday, a friend gave me a simple vintage ceramic vase. I told her that I loved it. She thanked me and told me that she didn't spend much money for it, so it was just a vase. Had she been more flush, it might have been a vahhhse.

I wasn't obvious I was just a sensitive child, I swear.

The only outward sign was that I was extremely sarcastic, even when I was a very little boy. I didn't know the term "bitchy queen" at the time, but that's what I was on the path toward. I think a couple of my parents' friends were actually slightly afraid of me. Fortunately, I saw what I was becoming and managed to tone things way down, so by the time I hit high school, I was just a fairly normal kid with a deadly sense of humor.

I wore a sweatband and leg warmers while I lip synched Physical. I thought I was Olivia Newton-John even though I was a chunky 9 yr old boy.

I lip-synched neighborhood concerts to Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits Vol. 2.

I pressed linens when I was 14 because I enjoyed it. I found it relaxing and soothing. I don't know why I bothered with the closet.

When I was in elementary school, I developed a taste for gold jewelry. I wasn't getting any, but I devotedly wanted it. If we were at a store with a jewelry department, I would wander off and you could find me there looking at the gold rings.

What kind of 5th grader covets a sapphire in a gold setting? A gay one.

I was a precocious child from an early age. Everyone knew I was "special" but my mother who refused to accept the fact.

Yet, she took me to see Mame with Lucille Ball when it was showing in the theaters. I mean, come on.

Could be me there were some clues. But I'm a fairly butch guy. Nobody calls me a faggot or like term without regretting it. And yeah brainiac too. I figured out early on how to deal with tormentors in one case it was slamming a certain guys head against a brick wall, in another we became fuck buddies. All in how you approached me. Didn't hurt that I was a mob kid.

And one who understood you only have to go psycho once.

R91, I'd love to see your wardrobe. It must be lovely. My grandmother had a bedroom set from the 1930s. It was a double bed, a nightstand, a woman's dressing table, a dresser, and a chifferobe. I wish I had it.

I used to put a towel around my head like a wimple and pretend I was one of the nuns from The Sound of Music, walking around my room with my hands together in prayer.

I hide it pretty well. I’ve always been kinda shy and quiet. It’s weird because I’m confident and expressive during sex.

I recently found some old photos from the 60's when I was around 10. In most of them I'm striking some kind of pose, I don't remember doing it, but it's apparent I'd seen models from catalogues and was trying to emulate them.

I looked retarded.

I was just like my brothers and all of my male friends, most of my gay and bi friends also had the same experience. Some people in my family thought one of my brothers was gay though. Some still do.

As opposed to how you look now, which is merely special.

Although I did it in the secrecy of a locked bathroom, I would try to see how many dress shapes I could make out of a bath towel around age 7. The column shape looked much better in gold terry cloth towel than the symmetrical or asymmetrical halter shapes.

I'm assuming you're addressing that to me, r109. I love you.

Yes, r108 was addressing r106 lol

It must have been pretty obvious. My mother picked up on it. She sent me to a child psychologist who decided I should be sent to summer camp and spend more time with dad. I was 12. When I got to camp I asked a counselor what his name was. He told me "Gil Horn" and I asked him if I could blow his horn. He was sitting on some steps and he opened his legs and said "sure" but nothing happened. Oh yes. I was a ravenous little bitch.

r108 is one of the funniest, bestest responses in the history of mankind.

Well then, give me a WW, goddamnit

I did. Because I love you.

My female friends and I (male) would pretend we were prostitutes and had play sex with boys in my hood. I was 7 years old.

I did love my G.I. Joe footlocker, and tank set, and hot wheels cars, but I also was fascinated by my sister 's easy bake oven

When I was in kindergarten and Princess Anne came to our school, boys were supposed to bow and girls were supposed to curtsey. Guess which one I did?

No one had clue.

Sandra Lee would’ve blushed had she seen the fabulous tablescapes that I could put together at all but the tender age of 8.

I performed the Part of Your World Reprise from The Little Mermaid in the creek next to my house when I was 7.

For my 14th birthday, I asked my father to buy me Lady Gaga's "FAME" perfume.

r122 Dad's reaction, please. We're all agog.

At first grade recess I made all my acquaintances act out Gone With the Wind and I played both Scarlett and Mammy.

And when I wasn't playacting a southern belle or her slave, I was Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf

And Stella Stevens in Poseidon Adventure

R124 Aww, I loved Witchiepoo too!

Remember the rumor the Witchiepoo was played by Geddy Lee of Rush? You can kind of see why.

That^^

witchypoo and hatsville and h.r puffinstuff.. WEIRD-A-RAMA SHOWS AND CHARACTERS! from my childhood...

course there was also early morning SHAZAM (sigh!) not billy batson but "daddy" shazam mode! oh yeah!....

I used to hate the Dreyfus episodes of The Golden Girls because they always removed the coffee table from the set and the living room looked off balance. Hated it!

In fifth grade, one of my classmates had a Halloween party at his home and invited the entire class. I went to the party as Phyllis Diller.

I was the only one there in high heels. But I did express myself. Boy, did I ever.

I had an obsession with the Wizard of Oz as a child. When I was six, my mother found some small women's low heeled white shoes with a bow on the top that looked like the ruby slippers, and she turned them red with a Magic Marker. i loved them, but two days later they disappeared, and I found out years later my father had freaked out when he discovered I was wearing them to play and he threw them out without telling me.

That same year, he also blew up at me when I idly remarked, "I wonder when Glinda's birthday is..."

I had a “free fucks” stand in my front yard.

Flaming. I was the biggest Spice Girls fan in the 4th grade.

I was obsessed with the Weetzie Bat series by Francesca Lia Block.

When I was about 10 I saw two of the hunkiest lifeguards at the swimming club toweling off after taking a shower. They were naked, long cocks and really hairy bushes. I was frozen, just stared at them. Neither turned away to hide their jewels. One looked at the other, raised his thick eyebrows and smiled. The other nodded, also smiling. They were making light of me, I could tell. They probably told all the other lifeguards about what I did.

I still remember that moment so clearly.

When I was a baby, maybe one, My mother put my sister and me on my Dad's chest while he was laying naked in bed. I remember heading south to inspect his package. Yaas honey! He pulled me back up before I reached it but I kept trying and he kept stopping me. I also remember being in a crib with a neighborhood kid. We were about three and were fooling around with each other. Starting again at age nine or ten, I had a boyfriend who would let me lay on top of him and grind. In the summers, we'd be naked and get sun on our sailboat in the harbor while people were sailing by us. #no shame. My earliest memories are of being gay. I guess I was kind of a child predator, except I was a child myself.

I had a collection of Barbie dolls when I was 5. My grandmother and mother made little outfits for them. There was a time when I would look back in horror and with embarrassment and wonder what my conservation parents thought about their precious youngest son. One of my cousins (a girl) made fun of my dolls even as she was playing with them. Its probably the reason I didn't get asked to join any of the young male social clubs in our town.

Now, many years later, its all seems so ridiculous. I will always love my parents for doing the right thing. Now, that I'm older and rich- fuck everyone else.

Uh, wow, r136. You win. I guess...

Like r136, I was a very predatory child. I was able to trick many of my male peers into getting naked with me and fooling around beginning when I was about the age of 6. When I was 10 or11, my barber was a muscular, good-looking guy probably in his early 30s. I noticed that he often leaned into the armrest of the barber chair, so I positioned my arm so that he'd press into it instead of the armrest. I got a great feel of his cock when he did this. Surprisingly (or maybe not), when he'd be pressing his cock against my arm, he wouldn't back away—he just stood there, calmly cutting my hair. His cock seemed semi-hard to hard. He never said a word, nor did I. I always wondered what he would have done if I'd been a little more overt and touched his bulge with my hand.

Other than my sexual precociousness, I pretty much flew under the radar and didn't display very many noticeable signs of my gayness, which I was always aware of.

R139... i remember when i was around that age like you 10, 11 up to about age 14 i would get a haircut from the same hair place that this one man ran, his own barber shop and he too would hover over me and press his body into me, i don't remember though if i ever felt his cock pressed into my elbow or my arm, but i do wish i had open my hand on the end of the arm rest and see if he would have pressed his bulge into my hand as it was under the smock.

he was around 40 or so if i remember correctly and did seem OVER friendly and younger acting then his years... probably a big ole perve he really was, i remember his wife was "putting it nicely here" plump and while he wasn't gorgeous, he was attractive and even at the time of being a kid i thought why is he with her? they had 2 or 3 kids i believe..

This thread took an unexpected turn.

R141 you aren't Ariel!

My redneck stepfather knew I was gay before I even did, because I wouldn't hunt with him and kill animals. I liked to read and do artsy things like design and build dollhouses for my little sister.

I wanted to take up a woodwind instrument in junior high so I could be in the school band. This disgusted my stepfather, so I mowed a lot of lawns around town that summer and bought the instrument myself, since he wasn't about to "support no faggotry".

I made music the central focus of my life and took years of lessons from a great teacher who let me pay for lessons by mowing her lawn and gardening for her. My dad saw it all as a waste of time and grunted on about how I should be doing construction, real man's work, with him and my brother. I had to weather constant derision and berating whenever I was at home, so I spent as much time out of the house as possible. My parents never attended my recitals and concerts, even when I'd won competitions and was on TV, etc., so they never got it.

I won my first important orchestral audition at age 17, and the position came with a salary that was more than three times what my stepfather was making. I moved abroad and made a point of "losing" a copy of my contract at my parents' house, where he was sure to find it and see why I was so focused throughout all of his homophobic bullshit.

I didn't see my parents again for five years, and when I finally did, I brought my boyfriend (also a career musician) to Xmas eve dinner at the urging of my sister. This time, there was no derision or berating. I think my stepfather felt stupid and embarrassed.

R143 dont stop there!

R143 It’s crazy to think a musically inclined child equates to homosexuality. Except clarinet. All the boys who played clarinet were bottoms-in-training.

The only time I ever [italic]liked[/italic] liked a clarinetist, r145, he licked clit.

Was anyone as obvious as this kid?

R123 He was pretty nice about it! I hadn't come out but I'm sure he had accepted it by then. As a child I would play princesses with the neighborhood girls all the time and brought Barbies to church to play with when I got bored.

In elementary school, I begged for ballet classes.

I got piano lessons. That was as far as they could go. It should feel like something positive, but it doesn't.

Oh yeah the other one I loved and still do Stephanie Mills - so much so when I was a kid I'd put my stereo speakers outside so I could have music whilst I swam. Yeah that was a clue.

Grew-up in a house of females so I screamed, played Barbies and taped pics of the Osmonds to my wall (not Marie).

My mom said people were going to call me "Pantywaist". They never called me that, but as I got older and wasn't "all-boy" I got called a lot of names.

Interesting thread, OP. I've noticed in home videos that I'm often by myself, self-conscious, and fidgety—clearly not comfortable in my own skin. In retrospect, I know I had feelings of being an outsider my entire childhood. I want to go back and give little me a hug.

I missed the second half of my post:

I didn't have obvious gay mannerisms or intersects, but was uniquely independent and quiet.

I am and (I think) was always a pretty 'masculine' or typical boy. I always wondered why I never developed more femme or stereotypically gay characteristics. I sometimes think maybe it was subconscious self-correcting as a form of self preservation.

If so, I think back to a moment in pre-school when I was maybe going down that path. We were asked what we wanted for Christmas; I said I wanted a Ken Barbie doll and the whole room laughed. That was my first collision with society's gender expectations and I think I learned the lesson quick. 'Ah, no dolls. Got it.'

i remember (and i'm sure i'm not the only one) loving "the flying nun" and wanting someone anyone to make me a habit (just the cap, not the whole thing, i.e. a dress)... and i was ridiculed for years about this, even now decades later, someone in the family will bring it up and think it's funny! , i don't think they know it's embarrassing as they bring it up to others, friends of theirs IN FRONT OF ME! and secondly, they never understood, i didn't want to dress like a woman or be a woman or whatever, i wanted to FLY! that is why i wanted whatever the flying nun wore on her head so i could fly! i repeatedly have to tell them that to no avail.

I was so gay Kate Jackson was my favorite Charlie’s Angel

R156 me too! I even had a poster of Kate on my bedroom wall while one of my straight best friends had the Farrah red swimsuit poster and the other had Jaclyn’s.

R136 - I was just the same. I was very sexually confident at a worryingly young age. I was playing around with other boys (including two brothers) when I was about 8 or 9.

I also came out to my school friends in 1984 when I was 12, so it was a sort of non-issue at school. My friends grew up knowing I was gay and it wasn't an issue for those who stuck by me. They'd make the occasional comment but I was always able to stand my ground. People I didn't know would shout things in the corridors and things but it didn't really get me down.

But at the same time I was quiet and bookish, I was always been told how 'sensitive' I was, and that I needed to 'toughen up' but I had no idea what that meant, how to do it, or why being like that was a problem. I never liked sports, but that was true of the straight boys I hung out with too (it was an all boys school).

I had very gay tastes I suppose and I don't mean campy stuff. The likes of Bronski Beat and Frankie Goes To Hollywood were amazing to me, which is why 1984 was when I came out. It was almost hip to be gay then, and AIDS was a very minor concern, at least in the UK.

I loved camp comedians like Larry Grayson, Frankie Howerd and so on (and much later Julian Clary) but I liked them because they were funny. I didn't associate their campness with my funny feelings for other boys. Similarly 'poofy' characters like Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served? or Bombardier 'Gloria' Beaumont in It Ain't Half Hot Mum were just funny, I didn't associate them with my feelings of wanting to take the clothes off of some of their co-stars, like the one pictured below.

Sixth grade was the first year all boys were required to take a soap shower after gym class. A new boy and I became friends, and I was shocked (the whole class may have been shocked) he had a full bush, a thick one, when he undressed. Another friend whispered "Stop looking!" to me. I had a hard time adjusting after he showed it. I wanted to have a sleepover and explore it, but I knew if we were caught we would be humiliated. He moved elsewhere the following year. I still think about him that way.

[quote]He moved elsewhere the following year. I still think about him that way.

"I'll be seeing you In every lovely summer's day In everything that's light and gay I'll always think of you that way"

Sorry for the spacing glitch.

"I'll be seeing you In every lovely summer's day In everything that's light and gay I'll always think of you that way"

I'll find you

In the morning sun

And when the night is new,

I'll be looking at the moon,

But I'll be seeing you.

At 6 or 7 I asked Santa at the store for a kitchen set. He said, wouldn't you rather have a football? I said no and my parents, God bless them, got me the kitchen set.

A few years back, my brother had some home movies transferred to disc.

Looking at those movies, it was so obvious I was gay by about age 6 or 7. There's extensive footage of me in my play kitchen. Meanwhile, there's also footage of my father trying to teach me to throw a football. Instead of throwing it across the yard to my father, every time he gave me the football, I threw it on the ground in front of me! I wasn't interested!

Some great stories here! Just goes to show how wrong people are when they say being gay is a choice.

I never wanted any sports things. I wanted board games, gadgets (tape recorder, camera, etc.) and these plastic horses that were about 12" high that I had corrals for and elaborate fantasies about. I also read a lot of horse books ("Stormy Misty's Foal").

My friends in the neighborhood were girls and we play-acted a lot, sometimes based on TV shows like I Dream of Jeanie. I remember listening to the record player and being obsessed with storms.

Funny from Grades 1 to 8 I was in a Catholic school and we had boys and girls. Still have a few male friends from back then. But then my Catholic high school - all male. Haven't seen most of them since I graduated.

Visible from Uranus OP.

I made myself a Cleopatra headdress at 8. Gay enough?

I like to swim laps in the lane next to my favorite lifeguard, Bernie. I did it as frequently as I could. He probably thought I admired him. I was looking at the front of his speedo as a half-inch of pubes appeared above it and swayed back and forth as he swam. It was the 70s. Lifeguards didn't remove their body hair at the time. I had a bit of rudder which slowed me down.

My brother and I would crawl on the furniture, trying not to touch the floor. I guess it's really called 'Lava' but we called it 'The Poseidon Adventure.' I'd wear my dad's shirt and pretend I was Linda Rogo.

I used to pretend I was Linda Lavin in mom’s car in the garage. I would belt out the Alice theme song and then I’d switch gears and tell all the boys in the neighborhood to kiss my grits. Some of them did.

Pretty sure it was completely obvious. Almost every kid made fun of me about it. They called me a f****t, a girl, cocksucker, a bitch, and the guys would slap, punch, choke and sometimes spit on me. I went to a small school so everyone sort of joined in, even a few teachers who called me gay in front of my class. There were maybe two or three girls who were genuinely nice to me though. I was the churchiest church kid who ever churched, and I guess I couldn't hide the gay, no matter how hard I tried.

I came out at 24, and haven't spoken to anyone from my school since the day I got out of there.

As a kid in the '70s, I ...

Was obsessed with Lily Munster, Jeannie, and The Flying Nun from watching afternoon reruns. I once put on my grandma's nurse's cap thinking it was sort of like Sister Bertrille's cornet and ran around the backyard trying to take flight. As for Jeannie, I occasionally think about buying one of those painted bottle replicas made from old Jim Beam bottles.

Dashed off a letter to the Louvre demanding that they find some arms for the Venus de Milo.

Got a part in a fourth-grade play directed by an actual children's theatre director. I was thrilled that I was getting to wear makeup for "legitimate" reasons.

Got into a spirited debate with some girls in fifth grade over who was the better singer: Olivia Newton-John or Linda Ronstadt.

Won the church Halloween costume contest by dressing up like Dolly Parton.

Got occasionally harassed my freshman year of high school (1981–82) by a teacher I never even had for a class for apparently not carrying my books in masculine enough fashion.

[quote]Got into a spirited debate with some girls in fifth grade over who was the better singer: Olivia Newton-John or Linda Ronstadt.

Whose side were you on?

I am so sorry, R174. I hope you had support from your family or others and I hope you have a good life now.

R175 I too lived Jeannie as a gayling. My mother had this amber colored art glass vase shaped like Jeannies bottle that I would play with. I’d turn a can of Glade bathroom air freshener on its side and spray it from the bottle to the floor where I would pretend to suddenly appear, à la Jeannie. Oddly, my mother would complain more about the overwhelming smell of “roses” and waste of spray than her very gay 9-year old pretending he was a female genie.

All those family picturs--there I am, standing with my weight on one hip. GURL.

My mother was homophobic, like in-the-blood homophobic. I was always aware of it but couldn't understand why. I thought she knew I was gay but when I (finally) came out she acted like it was a complete shock to her. "Let me get a drink" were her first words. So I guess I must've been pretty obvious. I figured her homophobia over the years was her way of letting me know she would be less than happy if I turned out to be gay. Of course it didn't work. I went to a child psychologist for years. He never brought up anything about being gay and was just plain weird. Eventually, she divorced my father, remarried, and her husband's oldest son (a year or two older than me) was not only gay, but a real screamer. Guess who became his best friend?

[quote] "Let me get a drink" were her first words.

Always with the booze the goyim.

R181 it would be clearer mom was a shiksa if she had said “let me get a gin and tonic.”

Boodles and tonic!

[quote]As for Jeannie, I occasionally think about buying one of those painted bottle replicas made from old Jim Beam bottles.

^If this made you go "Hmmm" . . .

R143, did you ever hook up with Billy Elliot?

Unlike r81, r116 did NOT grow up rich

[quote]I was so gay Kate Jackson was my favorite Charlie’s Angel

After much hemming and hawing, when FORCED by the other boys to name my crush from among the three, this is also who I picked.

I hated seeing pictures or videos of myself. I was hiding it but i'm sure most people knew. Being gay and closeted is exhausting.

How to Find a Masculine Halloween Costume for Your Effeminate Son

Well, I wanted to be a priest, then an actor. This was back in the late 70s.

I forced the girls in my neighborhood to put on a production of Grease, with lipsynching to my vinyl copy of the soundtrack, on the porch of my parents' home. I sent them home with lists of things for wardrobe and props. I was the only boy who would participate, so I played Danny most of the male roles. I could not convince them to participate AND let me play Frenchie- I wanted to wear the pink towel on my head, and have a pretty man sing to me. My poor father sat in a lawn chair and clapped, though I know he was melting away in mortification in private. He consoled himself that I was 'theatrical' and driven. I played with those girls like large Barbies.

I love these threads. I don't feel so alone, though I wish there had been just one of you in my orbit in those days.

I was never appreciated in gym class the entire time I attended school. The gym teacher called me "Pee-Wee" the whole first grade year. I was always picked last when we formed teams. In high school, the other guys even made bargains. "If you take Joe this week, we'll take him next week."

I now wonder what the other guys were thinking when we had to take group showers in middle and high school. Were they fearful when my eyes were open? I couldn't help but look and take notes. I never indicated I was interested in any of them.

The greatest motivation I had for studying was leaving that small town. I somehow knew college my life would be better. It was. My fraternity even invited me to join. This was in 1980.

[quote][bold]I wanted to wear the pink towel on my head, and have a pretty man sing to me[/bold]

DL quote of the week.

[quote]Whose side were you on?

I’m 35. As late as 2002-ish, I used to regale my parents with impromptu Judy Garland concert performance impersonations from recordings I illegally downloaded from Napster. And not mainstream Judy at Carnegie Hall. I’m talking the terminal years: recordings from London Palladium, the Palace, the Borscht Belt, random Australian venues, etc. My rendition of Purple People Eater always killed.

Had no idea Judy did that song. Then I found this.

Do gaylings still imitate Judy Garland?

Not my story but just as good: my school asked me to teach a theater class for 4-10 year olds on a series of Saturdays (some youth project)....halfway through they told me they expected a show. WTF? In two weeks? So I gave the kids a CD of Disney songs to lipsync (we were working on character and emotion). One little boy, about 6, chose "I won't say I'm in love" from Hercules.

Day of the show, his dad, who was the gorgeous jock guy about 6'3", is standing in the back, and the kid's turn comes up. The little guy struts to the center of the room, and when the music starts, he grabs his t-shirt collar, rips it so it is off his shoulder and strikes a pose. I almost pissed myself. Kid knew every word and lip synced FOR HIS LEGACY! I loved that kid then and there.

Afterwards, Dad comes over to me and says, "Anything I can do about...that?" indicating his son, not negatively, merely resigned. I answered, "Just love him. He's gonna have a rough road." Dad nodded and left.

In first grade, in 1976, our teacher asked us which Presidential candidate we would vote for (disturbing, I know). I said Jimmy Carter, and when asked why I replied "because he's cute!"

At the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, the only souvenir I would bring home was a postcard of an old-timey baseball player because he looked like Maurice Evans from Bewitched. My Father's pleas to buy a baseball were unheeded

Marching off to preschool with a cotton candy pink and white briefcase. I looked like I was about to go to work at Max Factor.

Late 70s, age 7-9. We lived on a cul-de-sac with almost no traffic and would roller skate in the street. My friend Anne-Marie a I would bring out her portable record player and speakers (connected to a massive extension cord) and put on performances to music while the other kids watched. Kind of like ice skating but with roller skates.

My biggest gay moment was my self-choreographed routine to the Village People's "Key West." I brought out my whistle and whenever they sang the words "key west" I would shake my mother's jangly set of keys and shake my booty.

I've posted this before, but the summer before entering junior high (grade 7), I was terrified of having to take showers in gym class for fear of getting an erection.

So I burned the gymnasium down.

I knew that I was gay at an early age and suspected that my mother did too although she expressed surprise when I came out to her after college. I thought I hid my gayness very successfully in high school until a few of the guys started exaggerating my hand gestures while I was delivering a report in front of class. I was mortified but it didn’t kill me. It never does, actually.

my parents wouldn't buy me Bat-girl or Wonder woman, so they got me Batman instead....I cut part of my moms wig off to make a hairpiece for Batman, then turned his cape around and cinched it with a rubber band to make my own bat-girl!

Fuck dem breeders!

R199 Im still smiling over that story !

Not me, but my little brother, who's 3 years younger than me. When he was about 4 or 5 my mom took him to the doctor for some reason. He was yowling and screaming and behaving like a right little cunt. The nurse came into the exam room, removed his pants, and put him face-down on the exam table, causing him to screech even louder. She then stuck a thermometer up his ass—and he not only immediately shut up, but he actually gave a cooked little smile. To no one's real amazement, he wound up coming out before I did. Surprisingly, he's very much a Top.

^^ "cooked" = crooked. Although I kind of like "cooked," too. ^^

That's amazing, R199. At least Dad seemed to have a sense of humor about it? Hopefully the kid keeps his self-esteem and fabulousness.

I was doing ballet

One night at dinner my parents were discussing the upcoming presidential election of 1968 . My 5 siblings and I listened for a while, then I put in my two cents: "I hope Robert Kennedy wins because HE'S THE CUTEST!" I was 8.

Robert Kennedy was cute ?

[quote]Robert Kennedy was cute ?

Not really, but he had lots and lots of teefs.

I have to make a list. There are so many.

I have to admit I find it tragic how much we were shamed because our likes and behaviors were not socially acceptable. Our loved ones meant well, but too many of us learned to hide and suppress our gifts—or deny ourselves things in that made us happy or joyful. Our creativity and delight was a source of derision to others. These stories are hilarious, but they also make me sad for the other little boys like me.

This thread is a hoot! Love you, all you sissy boys. I was one too. Played only with girls and their dolls. Soprano soloist in the choir. Pretty boy got kissed a lot by the boys.

But I was also pretty athletic and was pretty good at sports. Made it into a few teams. Gemini, what else can I say.

R213 Yes! And much cuter than Nixon FFS.

This entire thread has been men, but as a woman, when I was a kid, I had a bowl cut and ran around in umbro shorts playing with GI Joes and playing sports. I fell in with a skater crowd/look in high school and was very quiet but a sarcastic sense of humor once comfortable. Wore lots of Metallica shirts. wasn’t bullied generally, but called “little boy” in 9th grade by an asshole kid in my photography class. Dead giveaway: I wore a wallet chain and a shirt with a Bob Barker photo that said “Pimp” underneath in high school. When I came out in college to my best friend as gay, she said “uh huh.” My family is Mormon, and I don’t think even they were surprised.

I think there’s a comparison, but the social stigma and abuse directed at boys perceived as gay is much more toxic. Girls who dress like boys are much more socially accepted and not perceived as a threat to the social order like boys who aren’t into sports and other traditionally “masculine” pastimes.

I highly recommend this documentary.

At about age 8 after watching a parade live, I became obsessed with majorettes and demanded my mom order me a baton from the back of a comic book.

I strutted up and down our block twirling and doing my high kicks until my friend Patsy from across the street tried to steal it and whacked me over the head with it and knocked me out cold!

If I'd been wearing those white come fuck me majorette boots with the red tassles I'd have kicked her ribs in when I came to.

I learned to butch it up shortly after that but it still pisses me off.

Knocked out cold by my own baton!

I grew up in the sticks in the 60s-70s, with unsophisticated parents, yet somehow from a young age was intensely into Broadway, movies, Judy, Liza, Barbra, Cher, Miss Ross, even Edith Piaf. All the classic stuff. No idea where those interests came from. I remember making collages from photos I’d cut out of movie magazines - one devoted to Barbra, another to Liz Taylor. I kept my obsessions mostly to myself.

My earliest memories are of putting on my mother’s mink coats and high heels to strut around the indoor pool area. I was Naomi for a few hours! When we summered in Europe, I would often drop something from the dinner table so that the male waiter/servant could bend down to pick it up, giving me a glimpse of ass and a reason to continue living.

Speaking of Judy, I remember toward the end, when she wed Mickey Deans, the NY Daily News ran a two-page spread with pictures of Judy and all her husbands. The headline was “Judy’s Marriage-Go-Round,” which my eight-year-old self thought quite enchanting. Like a merry-go-round, such fun! I then decided since all the kids in my class naturally liked “The Wizard of Oz,” it would be a great idea to take the spread into school for show and tell. But my mother said no.

R219 yes, I never implied that I endured the level of bullying that effeminate boys did, but I thought this thread was appropriate for anyone was was obviously gay as a child, male or female. I’m well aware of gender norms and how boys police other boys’ behaviors with slurs and sometimes violence. I also overcompensated by pretending I had crushes on boys—it’s common for closeted kids of either sex to do so.

R218. I hope you didn’t think I was discounting what you shared. I know you probably got your share of sexist and homophobic bs as well just for just being you. Thanks for sharing your experience. I think it’s important we listen to everyone and appreciate that we all have our struggles, and they are each difficult and painful in their own way.

My parents did nothing said nothing about my flaming. I got hassled by other boys but never by my parents. Hoe about yours?

Hmm...

In kindergarten at age five, I insisted my parents buy me cowboy boots in black, brown, AND grey. They did. 😁

I wanted badly to be a witch for Halloween, when I was five. My sister & I both made our own paper mache masks and cloaks, with mom's help. My mother continued to talk about how much fun we had that year, throughout the rest of her life. Now, as an adult, I'm a pagan witch. There are many reasons why I chose this path, but I've always had a fondness for witches.

At that time, I also loved to shop for costume jewelry at yard sales & auctions, which I ultimately gave to my grandmother or great aunts as gifts.

One of those great aunts also served herself & me coffee in bone china cups & saucers., while everyone else got a plain old coffee cup . This was at a time when young children were prohibited from drinking coffee, and folks didn't typically trust five year olds with fine china. After coffee, I would peruse her extensive Milk Glass collection in her living room, while the adults continued to visit at the kitchen table. She really celebrated that "fancy" part of me, and I'm so grateful to have had that. I still miss her.

So, my parents shouldn't have been surprised. No one else was.

R146 Same! I had a crush on a clarinetist in college. He had beautiful blond hair, large blue-green eyes, a charming personality, and nice big butt & thighs. And...his name was Tory. But despite all this, he was straight. In fact, his girlfriend was in the same section of our wind ensemble. I couldn't be mad. They were both lovely people.

Way back when, I was a gayling wrapped in the protective cloak of being a braniac nerd.

I lived in a lower middle class neighborhood where all the rough kids knew that the only way out was through education. They respected that.

I never knew how rough my neighborhood was until my first day of HS. I was confused and lost in this HUGE complex when I was come upon by what would be considered a "rival" gang when they asked where I lived. I gave the name of my neighborhood and they bust out laughing that pounding me would be a pleasure. At that moment one of my little sister's friends from the block, 6'4" 250#, turned the corner and asked me if I needed a ride home. The other guys got all wide eyed and tripped over themselves leaving. My sisters were real life Rizzos.

I was never fucked with again. Funny thing, they all knew I was "different".

R147 A friend showed me that clip years ago (I hadn'tstarted watching the show), and I thought it was adorable and of course, completely HILARIOUS. The kid (gay or not) was really great in the role. And Anna Gasteyer was a welcome sight. Even if her character was homophobic....at least she wasn't anti-semetic. 🤣

"Thank you, Laaaarrry!"

I honestly never thought I was an obvious gayling but so many people assumed I was.

Every Halloween I dressed up as a Judy Garland character. Dorothy was my favorite though, I can still remember twirling around in those ruby red slippers my Uncle bought for me.

whenever the kids on the block wanted to play Tom Sawyer (which was part of a popular TV show), I wanted to play Becky

Becky haha Becky r233 😘🥰

While the other boys were getting filthy on the baseball diamond, my best girl friends and I would spend summers by the pool laying out and splashing around playing mermaids.

Family could likely tell, friends likely didn't.

I wasn't all fey, but in little baseball I'd be drawing in the dirt instead.

I think generally I was considered more nerdy than gay.

Around 12 I was apparent enough that my cousin pushed me out of the closet, she didn't understand my boundaries but it also came with some benefits in my environment.

By around 14 I came out to my parentals but by that point they basically knew. Either intrinsically or from my Internet history.

By around 16 it got through the heads of enough at my high school that despite their conceptions, yes I was definitely gay, so flirting from girls for example slowed down (but of course for a few, it sped up).

If there's one big thing I'm grateful for is that my parentals (aunt and uncle) didn't seem to actively shame me for my burgeoning sexuality. Internet stuff was passively locked down, monitored, and a few serious conversations were had. Coming out was far more stressful for me than needed, given the meh response (at least to my face). They at least passively accepted my relationship in my early teens up to prom etc experiences in my later teens. This was in the 2000s, rural Canadian area - though not entirely middle of nowhere it was close - raised by mildly socially conservative boomers in their 50s instead of gen xers in their 30s-40s...

I think people either didn't detect me, and if they did, they accepted it enough because the things they detected were things that you'd have to be versed enough in gay acceptance to comprehend are gay things. They'd have to know its about furtive glances to other boys for example, not stares. Now was I totally accepted? I think it was a case where I wasn't so 'obvious a gayling' that they probably still had their passively bigoted hopes that I'd find a girlfriend. But there was no big push, and my life situation was one where I genuinely believe that others just wanted me to succeed and be happy, even though their views of what that meant were flawed or varied.

One Hallowe'en I decided I would go as Granny Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies.

I had the grey wig and the boots - the whole kit and was working on my makeup when my dad said," umm...You don't want to look too good".

I guess the fushia lipstick gave me away.

Interesting that a number of the posts mentioned being a brainiac nerd. That was me too. Not a good cover.

Thought I didn't actually come out until I was in my early 20's. It's funny I attended a gay event and I already knew a few of the people. Surprised the shit out of them that I was gay too.

And brainiac yeah.

I was 5 entertaining the family with my Diana Ross impersonations, singing live, every note perfectly, and was considered cute. By 7, not so much, apparently.

It took me many years to enjoy singing again.

I always think of that line from Queer as Folk where the gay-positive mom referring to the twink says "It just shines out of him."

I imagine that was true for so many of us.

The Aliens who landed in Roswell, New Mexico sought me ought first for fashion advice. They saw me from their home planet.

R40 If the tabloids to add any influence or credibility, I bet they could get out a lot of mileage out of an Aniston/Jolie fight over Aaron Rodgers

...still had, not to add...

Jesus, wrong thread

My mom knew I was gay when I was in kindergarten in 1965. We had a Thanksgiving pageant at school. I was an Indian. She said she knew it when I skipped around the "campfire" with all the other Indians. They were apparently much more manly. Then I told her I wanted to be a hairdresser when I was seven. She turned pale white. She gave me such a tongue-lashing I never entertained the idea again.

I now have a master's degree and a consulting business. I am a bodybuilder. I don't skip in front of my clients and I wear my hair in a crew cut. Before she died, she spent hours on the phone with my partner. She loved all my gay friends. Folks can evolve.

don't know if this is gay or gayling but when i was little i wanted to be a baker, only because i thought if i bake all the cakes and pies and cookies and donuts i would be able to eat them all everyday! lol!....

You type fat

"I knew you were gay when you were six years old and demanded I get you a Barbie cake for your birthday"

I used to play Barbies with my sister and style their hair, etc., which really pissed off our stepfather who was a redneck construction worker. Dream Date Ken reminded me at the time of Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet. Once I became aware of what sex and gay meant, I would pose him along with the other naked Ken dolls in various orgy scenes on the canopy bed and leave them there for my sister to find and laugh at, but one day I did that and our dad went into her room and found them instead. He flew into a violent rage and kicked them all over the place, breaking the canopy bed. I felt bad for my sister, so I bought her another one with some birthday money from our grandma that I'd saved up.

Your stepfather wanted gay sex to stay at drunken camping and fishing trips, where it belongs

I still shudder at this OP's disgusting and unhealthy "How bad were you at hiding you were gay?" when speaking of children and teens.

We all deserve better than the five - at least - homophobic beliefs in the thread opener.

R251 I see what you’re saying—we don’t all fit into neat little stereotypes and playing with opposite gender toys doesn’t make you gay. But some of us realllllly fit the stereotyped mold as kids. I find it kind of endearing to read these stories, as long as we all recognize that being gay doesn’t mean you have to have experienced the same thing or were flamboyant. Today it’s a little more acceptable for straight boys to play with a wider range of toys, etc.

I love R249's story.

This seems relevant here! Always made me laugh.

I asked for a doll house when I was about seven. The kind that had all the plastic furniture. I loved playing with the furniture and moving it all around in the house. Later when I was ten, for my birthday I asked for a playhouse. My dad built one and it was simple but perfect. In middle school it was pretty obvious I was gay. Then the summer before HS, puberty hit and I turned into a big kid that hit hard in football. Throughout HS I was the weird artistic jock that liked musicals and would throw down if needed.

r251

It was called LEARNING TO FUCKIN' DEAL WITH LIFE.

Now people want everyone to tiptoe around your hangups.

I would lie down on my stomach while watching the Bobby Goldsboro show,. He always wore his shirts unbuttoned to the top of his abs, and gave many side views on the show. I would grind on the carpet, seeking a nipple in the open space. They were elusive, but one day I thought I spotted a bud backdropped by his white shirt. I'm sure I ground a permanent spot on the carpet that day.

Oh does anyone remember how the religious fundies who said we had to recruit the kids into the gay lifestyle, Chist on a stick that grated on my nerves even as a teenager. Because the Catholic school I went to - my Junior year guess what they did, they came recruiting for the priesthood/brotherhood,

Stumbling upon Heretic Tom's bloq I know now the Catholic church then is rife with gay men.

"To this day I have no idea who that other kid was, nor do I know how he heard about Garland's death. "

Have you ever heard of the RADIO? I heard that Judy had died on my transistor radio on WABC NY. Even music radio had a couple minutes of news at the top of the hour. You didn't need to wait for next day newspapers for the big immediate headlines. We also had TV news in those days!

For you tender newbies, here is one of the many "Dialing the Phone With a Pencil" Thread- it contains some of comments from the original 2003 thread.

When I turned 4, I requested and received an ironing board.

I would have been more obvious, I think, if I wasn't cruelly nipped in the bud in the 4th grade cafeteria, when I showed up wearing a New Kids on the Block button (that lasted about 2 seconds, and what the fuck was I thinking?). After that I was more careful.

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I guess it was pretty obvious when I asked for a Holly Hobbie bake oven for Christmas. But you know what? I got it and I loved it!

The largest wall of my bedroom was floor to ceiling Madonna posters, album covers and magazines.

Well in my case no video from when I was younger but photos of course. There's one were I'm about 2 years old. It's pretty clear I'm gay.

Now I have nephew - I've been with my guy for nearly 30 years so we visited him frequently until the nephew was about 10 years old. He was fascinated by my beard when he was younger. Plus I got the three kids Amazon Fire tablets - and for awhile my books were syncing with one or more of them. They got a lot of engineering books, books on religion, and gay romance books. I wonder which kid will turn out to be gay.

when No Business Like Show Business was telecast on Saturday Night at the Movies circa 1961... I worked up an Ethel Merman act at age 9......My sister's closet had accordion doors that they would open up like a show curtain and I would emerge belting out the title tune. Does that count as obvious?

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These threads make me laugh until I cry.

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I would play Barbie with my sister and cousin. The doll I always used was a cheap Barbie knockoff and gave her the name Money. And she was a real bitch. I had two friends (who also turned out to be gay) and we would make up a TV series about three Jewish women. We really camped it up. I had an ostensibly straight friend and we would lay in bed and kiss and grind against each other. My first girlfriend was in sixth grade. She was androgynous but had a cute face and was a real sweetheart. We would hide and neck for hours. I really felt like I was kissing a boy, she was so boyish. Such a sweet person. Of course, I hated sports and would rather read. I didn't look gay, I was a blonde blue eyed boy who probably appeared straight to most, but my non public escapades coded me as a gay boy and with Maggie (my boyish girlfriend) turning me on because of her masculine demeanor, it.was only a matter.of time before I wanted the real thing..Luckily one of my "Jewish Women" from our make believe sitcom became more than willing to mess around and I learned the joy of cock and ass.