InsaneJournal

I was actually so close to being able to do this at thebreach, supposing I could've convinced someone to pick up his wife. So I'm just going to describe Jack; it wouldn't necessarily have to be this particular setting, but this is the basis of the character / plot I'd love to play in the future.

Jack is 33, married for about five-six years, and has two children (five-year-old son, infant daughter). He's also "so deep into the closet that he has a timeshare in Narnia" (as I cheekily referred to him back when he was first gestating in the back of my mind). Jack realises that something about him is different (at the very least, he shouldn't be feeling like he's obligated to have sex with his wife! And it's "not natural" that he finds himself admiring a bloke's broad shoulders and muscular arms when his mates are all checking out birds' tits and arses), but with it being 1980 and homosexuality being a mental disorder, he's in serious denial that that might just be what's "wrong" with him.

I just think that Jack would be so interesting to play, especially as he first comes to the self-realization of who he is, and the struggle of how to tell his wife and friends, and even if he should tell anyone, and what this would mean for his marriage (because even though he's not all hot and bothered for his wife, he still quite platonically loves her and respects her and doesn't want to hurt her; plus, he made a commitment when they got married, til death do us part), and what would be the best for the children. It would also be interesting to introduce the possibility of another (gay) man that he is attracted to, because of the struggle of his own morals and not wanting to cheat on his wife, but at the same time being drawn to somebody who understands and to whom he feels more of a physical connection than he does with his wife.

Would I be afraid to play such a character? Admittedly, yes. If you look at my RP history, a good majority of my characters have been straight, and the few that haven't been strictly straight have been bisexual. Playing a gay character is completely out of my comfort zone, and I am, admittedly, afraid of coming off too stereotypically, or unintentionally doing something that might come across as insensitive. But I would still love to play out something like this, even if just in a PSL format.