The Gay Community's Bond

I was at a concert last night. “Gloria”, a gay and lesbian choir from Dublin who were, for the record, excellent. A rather mixed repertoire, from Mozart, Stanford and Tallis for the choir buffs like myself, and some show tunes and Queen for the rest of the world.

In between the musical pieces some of the choir acted out humorous parts from their own coming out.

“Mum, I’m singing in a lesbian and gay choir”
“I didn’t know you could sing.”

Indeed, the gay community are very good at putting on a brave face. Many people see us as happy-go-lucky types. We’re all Jack from “Will & Grace”, we’re all the carefree types with no children and no worries. We’re the life and soul of the party.

And yet the undertone is always there, and sometimes it feels like non-gays just don’t get it. We may be a bright and proud community, but in some way or other every one of us has struggled to be where we are now, and still are struggling.

Every one of us has had to battle with inner demons, with friends, family and work colleagues who are unaware, tactless or just plain malicious.

So we make it humorous. We make jokes about closets and manic mothers. We hide behind figurative walls. And in hiding we make it all the more obvious to those around us that while we may be who we are, it wasn’t as easy as we made it look.

Many observers say the gay community is strange in the friendliness and general respect it shows each member. But given circumstances, even in the 21st century, is it any wonder?

Our common bond is not same sex feelings, but the pain of coming to terms and continued persecution.