Hello, my name is Jhames

If you are young and you think you might be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or simply questioning your gender, this is for you. I came out of the closet at 15. I wrote a brief article for Scarleteen about my first crush that came with a crash course on being gay. What I didn’t write about was not telling my parents about my being gay until I was 17, months before I would graduate high school and leave for college. I didn’t really have the luxury of telling my parents as my brother broke into my room and looted through my dresser drawers. Instead of money, he found objects I kept from guys I (briefly) dated. Oh, and I think a male porno mag. In an attempt to shield himself from swift punishment for his offense, he told our parents what he found in my … Continue reading →

Update: Thanks to Patrick, and NPR, I’ve learned that the Food and Drug Administration instituted the ban on gay & bisexual men donating blood to organizations such as American Red Cross. I’ve discontinued the previous petition on act.ly in place of a new one that petitions Barack Obama to lift the FDA’s ban on allowing blood donations from gay & bisexual men.