Brandon

Brandon, age 4

Denver, Colorado (1980)

I was gay from the get go, and it seemed totally normal to me. I would wear my younger sister's dresses and slips and grab my mother's heels and proceed to spin in the front yard endlessly. This is not the only picture of me that gave indication to my orientation. There are many more, everything from me dressing up as the Wicked Witch (I was obsessed with her) to painting my mother's toenails, to ironing my blanket with a pink toy iron.

And of course, more dresses and heels.

"To hell with the sensible shoes, give me the glamor gal pair!"

As I grew up, I was thankful to have my younger sister by my side, to fashion her hair into a giant bouffant or applying her makeup, even in her teens.

Although I never became a drag queen as one might expect, I certainly embraced a flair for the unusual, sporting makeup and skirts and obnoxious hair color in my Goth teen years.

I have no shame when I look back at this picture.
I was happy being who I was and experimenting with whatever I desired.

I hope more parents allow their children to blossom naturally.

Brandon's first, famous-person same sex crush:
Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver from "Leave It To Beaver")
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Click here - "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Click here - "My First Gay Crush Blog"
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