May 17th, 2006
Second Gen Humor
I stumbled upon this article from the Onion. The fact that is was written more than four years ago does not take away from its chuckle power.
Having hidden in the closet his entire life, homosexual Neil Pivarnik, 47, lives vicariously through his openly gay son Jeff.
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Pivarnik’s only child, the 20-year-old Jeff announced he was gay four years ago while a high-school junior. Jeff currently lives at home while attending Emerson College, enabling his father to experience secondhand the thrill of living a life free of secrets and shame.
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To show his support for his son, Pivarnik attends gay-pride marches, subscribes to the gay magazine Out, and rents gay-themed movies to “better understand what Jeff is going through.” When Jeff first revealed his homosexuality, his father was there to help him through the difficult period of discovery, doing everything from talking with him about the challenges of “coming out” to helping him assemble an elaborate costume for a drag show.
Read the rest: Closeted Father Lives Vicariously Through Gay Son
For real life accounts, see Families Like Mine, in which I wrote a specific section “Coming Out to Closeted Parents.” (pp. 184-187)
Note to Paul Cameron: The Onion is satire. The story is make-believe.
(Hey, if I don’t spell it out for Cameron, we might discover quotes from “Jeff” in Cameron’s next research project.)