I'm From Driftwood is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit archive for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer stories. New stories are posted on the site every Wednesday.
What is it about gay uncles that makes them almost universally awesome? For Monique Contreras it was the fact that her gay uncle was someone she could confide in. She recalls:
[T]he first person that I came out to was my uncle, and it was when I was 14 years old. ... He said, "Oh, OK, thank God." ... It wasn't surprising, but it was just a relief. I leave, and he waits for his partner to come home, and he goes, "Guess what?" "What? Monique's gay? She came out?" And then he said, "Yes! The Lord has answered my prayers!" And he doesn't believe in the Lord too much, but he did that day.
In addition to providing unwanted fashion advice and taking Monique to a Madonna concert, her uncle took her on a trip to New York City, where the two continued to strengthen their bond:
[E]ach night we went to this lesbian bar in New York called the Cubbyhole, which I thought it was called "the Chubby Hole," and I was like, "Ew! That sounds disgusting! That sounds like a really intense gay bar, Uncle. We can't go there." And then I saw that it was a lesbian bar and was like, "Oh, it's called Cubbyhole, not Chubby Hole." So we ended up going there, and that was our three-day splendor, and every night was a new encounter for me, and he was like my wingman. Thanks, Uncle.
WATCH:
Monique Contreras is the front lead rapper for a rap duo called Icy Lytes. Check them out here.
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