Summary Of I Like Guys David Sedaris

The Gay Display In today’s society, people are judged every day by their sexual orientation. David Sedaris, author of the story “I Like Guys,” gives insight into the life of a young gay adolescent. He talks about his struggle with whether or not to identify himself as being gay. As a young teen in a society that was not accepting of his sexual preference, people ridicule Sedaris as a “faggot” (Sedaris 52). Although Sedaris presents a picture of himself as trying to fit in with the other students, in reality, he is gay and is fighting with himself over this sexual orientation. Sedaris knows that something strange is going on with his sexual attractions. As a teenage boy, he is going through a state of conflict. He feels that certain actions he takes could bring a negative impact on his life. He wants to fit in as a regular guy rather

He lives in a time when being gay is not thought of. He is ashamed of himself for being gay. He states in his story “My parents knew a couple whose son had killed a Presbyterian minister while driving drunk. They had a friend whose eldest daughter had sprinkled a Bundt cake with Comet...Yet, they spoke of no one whose son was a homosexual” (49). Clearly, homosexuals were not a topic of conversation. Because people ignore this alternate lifestyle, teenagers like Sedaris feel like they must hide their inner longing. In turn, Sedaris tries to distract himself from thinking about being homosexual. He states, “It was my hope to win a contest, cash in the prizes, and use the money to visit a psychiatrist who might cure me of having homosexual thoughts” (48). Dreaming of changing his tendencies does not make it so. When he returns from camp, he says, “I like guys. The words had settled themselves into my features” (52). Undoubtedly, Sedaris’ world had changed. In fact, he admits, “I was a professional now, and it showed” (52). The face of homosexuality rears its ugly head in his