liv: Stylised sheep with blue, purple, pink horizontal stripes, and teacup brand, dreams of Dreamwidth (_support)
Liv ([personal profile] liv) wrote in [community profile] agonyaunt 2023-03-27 09:14 am (UTC)

Yes! Reading that gave me warm fuzzy feels even though the letter itself is just rootless parental anxiety about no real problem.

I do wonder if the young man's naturally quiet, serious personality is further magnified by the college gay party scene being rather off-putting. There are heterosexual equivalents of course, but if the scene is very focused on alcohol, drugs and loudly boasting about lots of almost obligatory casual sex, then reading and playing the piano might well be more appealing. Also it could well be that Will's mostly straight parties are not a safe environment for a gay younger brother.

Although the 'just happens to be gay' framing is very heartening, I feel there is a gendered element to thinking about safety. Easy to assume that a male teenager isn't at risk from sexual violence, but I somehow doubt that LW would be so enthusiastic about a daughter attending lots of parties and experimenting with alcohol and drugs.

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