When one goes to public school they are guaranteed an education, as well as guaranteed drama and a few experiences. When one is queer and attends a public school, the drama and experiences multiply dramatically. If one attends public school, is queer and involved in either a performing art or mainstreamed sport the drama and experiences
multiplies exponentially. The statement about mainstreamed sports refers to the following: Football, Boy’s Basketball and Baseball. Others might have heavily patroned but are not considered mainstream. If one is involved in a lesser sport, like Track, Wrestling, or Cheerleading, the drama is not as
high because sneaking around is not as necessary. If one is involved in a sport that no one cares about, Girls Basketball, Soccer, Swim (boys and girls), anything with the words “bowling,” “golf,” or “American Sign Language” in the title, or a musical art, then it is already assumed that one is either queer or has a “Summer Camp Story” to share.
A Summer Camp Story is the first sexual experience with the same sex. These run the gamut from as innocent as party games like spin the bottle or suck and blow, to as intense as, well, as far as you can imagine yourself ever going. These summer camp stories tend to have one thing in common, the question “have you ever ___with a ___?” The answer is irrelevant; this is more of a statement of desire hidden below a rhetorical question.
Let us look at an example:
Alex and Brice are in the 9th grade and they’ve had a year or two of sexual exploration with the opposite sex. Though Brice has a few more notches on his bed post, what Alex has done surpasses Brice. Quality over quantity. Accompanying Brice and Alex are two more puzzle pieces, girls named Kim and Christina. These girls are the same age as the boys and, since they are girls, were dooped into sexual exploration at a younger age by boys older then Alex and Brice now, which is a different story for a different time. Our quartet is playing the tried and true game of “truth or dare.”
“So Brice truth or dare?...Truth? hmm. Have you ever kissed a boy?” Kim and her comrade follow this statement by giggling and throwing hopeful glances back and forth. After hesitating and looking for a way out that doesn’t exist, Brice admits that yes, the last time he played this game he was “forced” to kiss a boy. The girls’ giggling continues and grows louder. Once Brice’s blushing subsides and he utters a few “shut ups” and “it was only a game,” they continue. Christina is forced to show her three friends her polka-dot bra, and the ball is once again in the girls’ court. “So Alex, truth or dare?” Alex ponders his options. One more Truth and the girls will make an excuse to leave, but he already knows where the Dare is leading. Continuing to weigh his options, the 2 minutes he’s taken to think stretching out for hours in his mind and for the others waiting for the answer. He’s wondered what it would be like, Brice has a nice smile, and did he just think that? Brice is tall and muscular. Did he just think that? Brice does have a chubby. Did he just look there? He bites the bullet. “Dare,” and before he knows, his and Brice’s lips brush and bump for a quick, awkward, and, possibly, too forceful a moment.
Later, when the girls have left, the boys start their silent walk home. The situation continues one of two ways, they clumsily kiss again, then clumsily make out, wake up the next morning sitting next to each other awkwardly eating cereal in front of the TV, not talking about it, never mentioning it again. This repression will later manifest into mild self-loathing homophobia, young republican meetings, long showers with the team, early sexual encounters with the opposite sex, becoming a notorious “playa,” (prom baby optional) and then once in college, traveling to gay clubs the next town over, where people won’t recognize you, to have promiscuous sex in alleys and stranger’s cars. These also tend to be the Mid-Life crisis group that finally leaves their wives and their L.L. Bean catalogue families to live with a “pyt” and pugs/Chihuahua/yorkies/cats. Crystal meth addictions/alcohol abuse optional.
The alternate path:
The boys awkwardly kiss again, awkwardly make out, and then the next morning awkwardly eat cereal in front of the tv watching cartoons. The following weekend and every weekend after this, spent together. They gradually build experience and courage to try new things. They have become the weekend queers. These boys appear as they are: very good friends-very very good friends. Eventually, they will get bored of each other or more likely high school will happen. The more flamboyant of the two will become the butt of locker room jokes and his friend will probably cave into this, referred to as the “Mega Queer” in the equation, will struggle though high school coming out slowly to friends, via confrontation of rumors or his own will. The second (the “Closet Queer” in the equation) will be most likely follow the aforementioned closeted-homophobe/ladies man/meth-head road, but with more sexual encounters with the same sex while in high school.