Step Away from the Altar

I should preface this by saying I've talked to a couple of people who had this reaction and I don't feel quite as crazy as I did at the time, but I was reading Benoit Denizet-Lewis's piece on young, married gay couples and as soon as I read about the Brandons, I found myself thinking that I kind of want to get married. Like, now. And then I checked myself before I wrecked myself, and slowly closed my computer and went for a walk to clear my head.


SINCE WHEN HAVE I WANTED TO BE MARRIED. And why do I find the Brandons particularly adorable!? Hell, as a matter of principle, I don't think people should be allowed to date people who have the same name as them. (I've kept this as a hard and fast rule for years, and while I know a couple named Brian and Ryan and I'll grudgingly let that slide, I've voiced disapproval for unique spellings like Chris and Kris and bilingually equivalent couples like Michael and Miguel.) I did eventually finish the article and even though I was wracked with guilt, I still had this nagging sense of cuteness that I couldn't shake. I felt like I should take a cold shower or something, but instead, I looked at divorce statistics. Maybe I could settle for a boyfriend and a sunny kitchen to host the occasional vegan potluck and that'd be fine.

(That said, Paul McLoughlin is in the article, and I'm a huge fan of both Paul and his partner. We took gay self-defense together back in the day, and I plotzed a little when I saw him in the NYT piece.)