Take this to your grave gay video
Troye Sivan on Coming out and Why He Doesn’t Want to Be a Gay Icon
Troye Sivan would like to politely decline the role of gay icon. Sure, his vignettes of the uncontainable joy and pain of queer youth – expressed through springy beats, convulsive synths, and slippery, writhing dance moves – might be as exhilarating as they are crucial, but it’s a minuscule more pressure than his 22-year-old shoulders can treat . Besides, he doesn’t assume any single person should represent an entire people. “I’m one voice of so many that are missing,” he says silently. “There are plenty of other people who want to be heard first.”
Sivan and I are sitting in the back room of a recording studio in Notting Hill. The Australian musician is settled on a sofa, his wiry frame swamped by a pristine grey coat, under which is a mesh, leather-necked patchwork highest. Outside the door, a few dozen hand-picked fans are buzzing past, towards a room where they’ll hear a preview of his forthcoming album, Bloom, well before its free on 31st August. To these fans, Sivan has been an icon since before he broke into the world of pop music.
Scroll ten years thick into Sivan’s YouTube channel, and you’ll find
My father was gay. He was born in 1918. In my 20s, he started telling me stories about his early animation. He was out in the 1930s at a time when it wasn’t common. He had dreams that most would not believe he dared to dream. The problem with my dad telling me all of this was that he was still married to my mother.
In 1939, at a party in the Hollywood Hills with gay filmmakers and musicians, he was arrested. Police officers handcuffed the men, herded them into a van, and took them to jail. The following morning, he appeared before a judge for sentencing. Because the arresting officer couldn’t swear that he saw him touching his dance partner, he was released.
Then he was caught up in an illegal sting operation in Pasadena that targeted homosexual men. They were extorted by the police for cash payments in give back for conditional release. His dreams of being a schoolteacher and living with his boyfriend were destroyed.
As World War II loomed, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy, but he was rejected when his record revealed that he was lgbtq+. The Army eventually recognized him, perhaps because war was imminent and able-bodied men, even gay ones, were needed.
Before my father shipped
“You want to shove those words back in and put the lid on. But you can’t. Your child is gay. This goes against everything you’ve been taught. It was not what you had in mind, and you instantly wonder where you went wrong.”
When you turn into a parent, you understand to expect the unexpected. But for many Christian parents, nothing can ready them to hear that their beloved child is gay. This is the child you have cradled, spoon fed mashed bananas, and dreamed a charming future for. How could this be? What will the church say? What will your friends say? What does the future hold? You can’t even get your head around this.
If you are a Christian parent, family member or friend to whom your loved one has come out as same-sex attracted or lesbian, then this is for you.
I ask you to sit down, relax, maybe get a cup of tea, and soak in what I’m about to tell you. My hope is to guide you as we walk for a bit through this maze of confusion, to help you find your way to wholeness. In many Christian circles, this is not good news, and you may begin to spiral into reflection and self-searching. We’ll get to that. But at the bottom of it all, this is not about you. Most parents’ first mistake is to mak
The Gospel for a Homosexual Friend
Josh had always famous he was different. From his earliest memories, he looked at some boys as more than just peers. His parents knew he was “special,” but they loved him for it. He learned to wear a mask and play the part of a “normal” kid until he graduated from elevated school.
In college, Josh decided it was time to be who he really was. He made friends with other gay people and set out on sexual explorations. Josh set up a refuge in his gay community and developed bonds that ran much deeper than sexual flings. Though his parents distanced themselves and old friends turned a cold shoulder, Josh felt that he was finally free in his new identity as a gay man.
Josh is no caricature. His experiences and story are correct, and they are common.
What if Josh were your neighbor or your co-worker or your son? How would you give the gospel to him? How would you tell him about the forgiveness of sins, the community of believers, and true individuality in Jesus?
In one meaning, there is no difference in the way we’d share the good news with Josh compared to any other person. Just because Josh is sexually attracted to people of the same gender doesn’t make him foundation
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