The Gayest Thing I've Ever Seen.
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: Evil Things
Today I met Ben at South Coast Plaza for soy lattes and a little shopping; we've been needing to spend more couple time, and lunchtime rendezvous are the perfect vehicle for that. It involves fighting the noonday traffic, and South Coast Plaza is swarming with both housewives and the work/lunch crowd on a Wednesday noon, but it's well worth it in time spent laughing and flirting like we used to do. See what kissing leads to? Two little kids snapping at your heels, one enormous belly, and not enough of the stuff that produced the kids in the first place, that's what.

In our travels we stopped off at the Sephora store to sample the new Philosophy shower gels. After some sniffing and some discussion, we settled on one bottle of Coconut Milk and one of Hot Cocoa, then approached the cash registers. Our cashier had hair cut in a cute chin-length bob and bone structure reminiscent of Jennifer Aniston's. Imagine our surprise when our cashier spoke to us and we realized that our cashier was a man.

It wasn't Pat; he was far more effeminate than that, clearly female, or so it seemed to the casual eye. Now, I'm the last person to be put off by gay men, or if not exactly the last, I pretty much shrug and think Cool, whatever floats your boat. But this cashier was the knee-jerk caricature of gay, the epitome of gay, the embodiment of every gay stereotype you've ever seen or heard. Lisping, limp-wristed, ever so consciously camp. Now that was shocking to me.

Imagine happening upon a black guy who was walking along making goo-goo eyes, eating watermelon and picking cotton. To me, this was the same thing, and I'm not at all sure what to make of it. Gay people don't make me uncomfortable; I've known a whole bunch of them, and they are just like everyone else. We all do our own thing when the lights are off, after all; we all prefer to have sex with whatever kind of person is attractive to us. But this cashier made me uncomfortable. It was the stereotype thing.

Why is this? Am I really uncomfortable with gay people deep down, and don't like to be around them unless they "blend in"? Who's to say? I don't have time to think about it right now, but I wish I knew.