Adorable Young Man Comes Out of the Closet with Help from his Cat and BUTT
BUTT fan Ben Tousley wrote us earlier this year to see if we had any posters left featuring his favorite cover boy, Jason Whipple from Issue #18. We were having a good day and feeling generous so we sent 2 off to him. Now, Ben's returned our goodwill with a very sweet letter about how much BUTT means to him, and some cute pictures of his BUTT loving cat Cricket.
Hey BUTT friends,
I’ve been really wanting to thank you again for sending these two posters. I got them a couple months back and they’ve kind of a had a little journey since then; I came out a little over a year ago now, definitely with the help of BUTT. Having the posters up in my house has been a pretty helpful reminder to myself that all is well in the world and I shouldn’t let myself get too down. I’m glad to say I’m one of many people that appreciate the ways you guys bring together the many wonderful aspects of being a gay man, particularly in ways that I can actually relate to. A pink magazine named BUTT has been way more inviting to me than any rainbow.
That said, I’ve only just come out to my parents and family in the past couple months. So, there was plenty debate with my friends and I about whether or not I should leave the poster up for when they’re visiting and I finally come out to them. In the end, I decided to take it down so as not to overload them with terror and doom for their baby boy. But honestly, it really helped me so much to look over to it and remember that I should just go ahead with it. I really appreciate that you guys have been able to represent that for me. You’ve been a good source of inspiration and pride. Since then, because of all the discussions we had about it, a good friend of mine made me this little dog tag necklace that says “I Come First” on it out of titanium as a surprise. I’ve been wearing that every day now.
Here are some pictures of Cricket the cat trying to imitate Whipple’s good looks, a picture of me flaunting my new “pride” decorations, and the rad necklace that my friend made. Hope you guys are doing really well. Issue 25 still hasn’t made it here to Indiana but I’m really psyched for it.
Take care,
Ben