Watching Friends Commit Suicide: What It's Like Growing Up Gay and Mormon

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/forced-out-school-and-church-watching-friends-commit-suicide-what-its-growing-gay-and-mormon

Forced Out of School and Church, Watching Friends Commit Suicide: What It's Like Growing Up Gay and Mormon



By the age of 18, Ryan Shattuck had crossed several key moments of being a young Mormon man off of his checklist. He had attended seminary classes throughout high school, was enrolled in Brigham Young University for college and was going to Mexico for a two-year mission. But one of the most important -- and probably most life-changing -- things on the list was one Ryan did not think he would ever be able to do: marry a Mormon woman.

A fourth-generation Mormon, Ryan knew he was gay by the time he was 16 years old. A homosexual lifestyle is not approved by the Mormon Church, which resulted in great internal conflict for Ryan. This conflict would affect much of his life going forward: he lost several people to suicide; he organized a support group for gay Mormons that would result in him leaving college; and eventually, he left the church.

Growing up Mormon, according to Ryan, is like growing up in a bubble. When talking about his upbringing, he is often asked why he did certain things or followed specific protocol, and his answer is that he didn’t consider different alternatives because there were none. The path of a Mormon child is a straight and narrow one, and it wasn’t until he went to college that Ryan began to stray from that path.

An all-star student in high school, Ryan participated in the swim team and the drama club, and was voted vice-president of his senior class. While he dated a few girls casually, no relationship lasted more than a month or two. It felt awkward to be with girls, and Ryan knew he was dating them because he was supposed to, not because he felt attracted to them.

[dynasaw]

1. Key Paragraph

Mormons grow up "in a bubble" and are trained on "the straight and narrow" path seeing no alternatives because there are none. A key factor when trying to understand candidate Mitt also.

[mitchtv]

2. I can relate to much of it,

having been raised RC in the 50's, 12 years catholic school, altar boy, and the rest, The experience has many parallel lines. I grieve for these kids , and the shit they must overcome in order to live a halfway normal life.