Large part of the wiki, knows that I’m an Italian woman, catholic, 40 years old, and married with kids. And today I want to relate to you about how I changed my ideas about gay people.

The first time that I heard something about gay people, and trust me I remember that, was when I was probably about 15 or 16 years old, from my dad ( and PLEASE forgive him because in 1984-1985 all, or at least the large part, people were thinking like that, and now he thinks like me, that gay people are like everybody) that said to my mom, that gays were different , probably he said, also that cannot be love between two men, probably I remember these words because was it the first time that my dad said something like that, my family, growing up taught me to respect everyone, so these words seems so strange in the mouth of my dad, and these words rest my head and I really believe that between two men can be only lust...

How can I change my idea?

Thanks to television

One day, in summer, I couldn’t go to the beach, for... some female problem, and like always I went into my grandpa’s room to watch TV and I saw a movie called in Italian ‘Una gelata precoce’ ‘An Early Frost’ The movie talks about a man that had the HIV/AIDS but the thing that really made me think, is the fact the two men can be in love, can be a couple, my first prejudice was gone..

Then Philadelphia, tender and beautiful, that makes me see how it can be hard to be gay, I love this movie but the scene that really makes me feel bad is when they are in a Turkish bath, (I’m not sure about that) cause that was the first time that I saw the homophobia...

Then Brokeback Mountain, for me the most beautiful movie of the last few years, that really makes me understand that, also if sex cannot be exactly the same, the feelings ARE THE SAME, the gay straight or be having sex, for fun, for lust, and for love, that is really the same

And why I love the Luke & Noah story so much probably for different reasons, Van & Jake are amazing, and ATWT, shows, A TRUE LOVE, sometimes soapy, sometimes that go so slow, but a LOVE that’s so ‘worth the wait’ love from a beautiful gesture, hand in hand, caressing, tenderness, glancing, and probably the fact that in Italy we haven’t NOTHING like that makes me appreciate more the braveness of ATWT and P&G, and this is the reason of my support for this show because the TV makes it change my idea, like ATWT and Luke & Noah’s story, can do with other people, like me that needs only something to understand....

With Love

Laura