I’m from a large and super tight-nite extended family. As part of the “older wave” of cousins, I was frequently put in charge of looking after the younger cousins.

The younger ones are way more expressive of their sexuality. I suspect some of my older cousins (in their early 40s) are in the closet.

In the meanwhile, my younger cousins (early 20s) are very upfront. Trans, lesbian, gay, cis, bi... they have no problem being out to the extended family.

As one of the middle cousins, my reaction to my younger cousins coming out of the closet is an intense protective instinct. I know the hell society still gives to LGBT individuals, and I feel this intense need to fight it for my baby cousins.

I guess I still think of them as babes in my arms.