mysid | Apparently, you need girls for romance--who knew?

Not one to do something halfway when I can go overboard instead, I have of late become completely obsessed with Queer as Folk. I haven't posted anything in ages because all my computer time has been spent either watching episodes or reading fanfic. (Thanks again for the recs,

secretsolitaire!)

Brian and Justin are simply the hottest couple to ever grace our television screens. Male on male sex with storylines--in other words, porn for women. Wow.

I was watching a clip on YouTube the other day--something tame as my daughter (age 7) was in the room, and she happened to glance at the computer screen just as Brian kissed Justin.

"Did those two boys just kiss?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"Why?"
"They're in love," I said.
"That's creepy." (Creepy is her current word for anything unusual or strange.)

Now, this reaction surprised me, as she's grown up with a lesbian couple next door, is friends with their daughter, and thinks of her friend's moms as just as married and "ordinary" as my husband and I. So I asked her about her reaction pointing out that J. and A. were both women, and she knew that was normal.

"Girls in love with girls is OK, and girls in love with boys is OK, but boys in love with boys is creepy."
"Why?"
"Because to be in love, someone has to be romantic, and boys aren't romantic; girls are romantic."

Huh. Well, I counterd that boys can be romantic, and offered as proof a clip on YouTube of Brian and Justin at Justin's prom. I stopped the clip before the bashing, but not wanting to completely gloss over how bad homophobia can be, I told her in general terms why I was stopping the clip where I did.

The final result, she's still not sold on boy+boy being as sensible as girl+girl or boy+girl, but it's only a little bit "creepy."
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I've never seen the prom scene. I'll have to find it. But that seems like a place to start. Interesting insight on the "romance" question. Being open with children about the issues and knowing same sex couples is key for them to grow up with healthy attitudes I think. I have to interject my own favorite child story on the question here. My son was invited at about age 11 to go on a camping trip with a classmate. I hadn't met the parents, so I made arrangements to meet them. I first asked my son what they were like--his answer was "just like you and dad." When I met them, I discovered they were two lesbian women from Texas. His dad and I could not have been more different on the surface, but our attitudes about child-raising and tolerance and intellectual interests were remarkably similar. I was delighted with my son, felt like something about what I had tried to communicate to him had reached him.

Big hugs to your wonderful son--and to the wonderful parents who raised him so well.

The QaF prom scene is fabulous--which is why I made a link to it in my entry. But here is the URL again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlg-CH19KHw

Well, her point of comparison is 7-year old boys (or around that age)...nothing really romantic about them, yeah?

Edited 2008-03-13 22:10 (UTC)

Definitely not. Although--my seven-year-old son can be quite the sweetie when he isn't being disgusting or horrid.

I am grinning hugely right now. You sound exactly like me around this time last year -- I couldn't get enough of the show or the fic. :-D At once point I was staying up till 4 a.m. every night because I couldn't get enough. Brian and Justin pretty much set up shop in my brain and have been there ever since (going at it 24/7, of course *g*).

Brian and Justin are simply the hottest couple to ever grace our television screens. Male on male sex with storylines--in other words, porn for women. Wow.

EXACTLY!

If your daughter needs further proof that men can be (ridiculously) romantic, you could also show her the proposal scene (http://youtube.com/watch?v=AEFKauFkXd0). :-) Though for my money, the most romantic scene in the whole series is Brian finally dropping the big "I love you." (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ogsxPGAw_oc) *swoons*

If you need more recs, I've got 'em. Just say the word. ;-)

Most romantic moment when Brian finally says the dreaded three little words? Nah. For my money, it's all the ways he said it without saying it: buying Justin the art computer, paying his tuition even though they were broken up, not contradicting Debbie when she said, "You love him," etc.

My favorite: "Hey, Sunshine! Your partner just made partner!" And wasn't it a killer than Justin wasn't there to hear it.

Oh man, I love that scene in the loft when Justin comes to tell Brian he can't take the tuition, and Brian not only makes him take it but gives him the computer as well. *sigh*

The end of season two when they're heading for their breakup hurts like hell to watch, including that "Your partner just made partner!" scene, but I actually love the eps in the beginning of season three when they're apart, because they're like magnets -- you can see them starting to pull toward each other again. (And personally I find Brian much more appealing when he's pining/suffering than when he's being a dick. *g*)

Just curious, have you gotten ahold of the full episodes, or are you piecing things together via fic and clips?

So far I'm just piecing together via clips, although I do think I need find complete episodes.

That's how I got into the fandom too, with clips and fic. Once I finally got ahold of the complete episodes, it was quite a different experience. Brian and Justin are still my favorite part of the show by far, but I really grew to love the other characters, and it's interesting to see how B and J fit into the larger storylines.

Looks like used DVD's of the earlier seasons are pretty cheap over at half.com, and I bet you could find the later seasons on eBay at a decent price. Or you could go for it and buy the complete series! I have been very tempted to do that but haven't caved...yet...maybe I'll request it for Christmas. :-)

I know you're not fully comfortable with this option, but just in case you ever change your mind -- you can download eps here: http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/qafdl/. You just need a Yahoo account and to request approval for membership.

Welcome to the club of fangirling QaF fans!

I will always remember the prom dance scene fondly. One of the best evenings ever. My best friend and I watched the French version, which was ridiculously badly dubbed and we couldn't follow most of the time anyway, and we still couldn't resist to rewind and watch it again and again. I think we watched the dance about 15 times that evening. *lol* It's one of the best dancing scenes ever, I think. The song didn't get out of my head for weeks.

Best dancing scene ever? It's a toss up between their prom dance and Justin's pole dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM_f_vUhU-4) for the King of Babylon contest. ;D

It all depends upon whether I'm in the mood for romantic or hot.

I went through a QaF craze a couple years back. Love them. Actually one of my favorite characters is Emmett. He is so adorable, especially in his relationship with that older guy. And I thought the Justin's musician boyfriend was so romantic (for a while anyway.) Really enjoyed a show with real plots AND hot sexy scenes. Yay!

Oh and re your daughter. Isn't it interesting how young they pick up on the general anti-gay bias? I'm glad you're teaching her to think differently. I've had to work at it with my kids.

It's one of the reasons I'm so glad that J. and A. live next door to us. (Above and beyond their being generally nice neighbors of course.) Just my kids growing up knowing them, knowing their daughter, and seeing them as completely "oridnary" teaches the necessary lessons quite well.

ahhh - you've caught it, too!

*welcoming hugs*

Gale Howard...irresistable!

watching on UTube? do you need/want?

Actually, I'm dying to see 304--the one in which Brian's nephew accuses him of molesting him. On YouTube, I've only been able to find a few scenes from that episode, and I'm dying to see the whole thing.

k...will ding you when its upped

see me on my lj

Apparently, you need girls for romance--who knew?

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