By

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So my story begins yesterday. Math class. First period. We had a sub, the nicest sub in the world, who stuck to the lesson plan, and once we completed that it was fretime. We could sit where ever we wanted, talk as loud as we wanted, because she didn't care. The class clowns, a group of annoying boys who liked to disrupt the usual flow of the classroom with not so funny jokes, called me over to their group. I wasn't surprised, we were on neutral terms as of late so I saw no reason to be suspicious. Their leader, E, and his second hand, C, told me they had noticed I had been acting more feminine, and my sassy remarks and sarcastic comebacks had been delivered in the air of a girl. Rolling my eyes, I have them an impatient look as I waited for them to get to the point. Finally, their lackey, C, spoke up and asked, "You gay?" Now back in my days of early acceptance, I would have freaked and probably ran. But today, my reply was a burning glare, and I opened my mouth to free the prisoner so many of my classmates feared.

My tongue.

"Why would you ask me this? If I am gay, or even considering it, why do you think I would come out to you, a bunch of Neandrathals with no reason whatsoever to even THINK I would consider opening up a private part of my life to you?" Dumbfounded, they sat there for a while before their tiny brains processed what I had said. They continued to protest that they were my friends and that I could tell them anything, even though I knew for a fact they just wanted the swet satisfaction of knowing their little stereotype was correct. I simply called upon my pet birds, introduced them, and sent them on their merry little way.

The message of my story is this: Don't let anyone or anything have the satisfaction of labeling how you, a complex, unique, individual are or act based upon a silly and inaccurate stereotype.

Good day, and stay gay,

~Shay