I think many kids and people confuse hero worship for same sex attractions.
So if a kid wants to be with or like someone they admire, people label it as homosexuality. Then they are told they are gay and believe it.
Just one possibility.
my daughters BFF in high school was convinced she was gay b/c she thought Cindy Crawford is beautiful.
Cindy is beautiful, you can recognize that and not be a lesbian.
That girl had other problems but grew up to marry a man and have a baby.
DING! DING! DING!
We have a winner!
I agree, I have said for years, way too many people are confused between “hero worship” and “homosexuality”! Just because I like hanging out with someone and doing the same/similar things as someone, does not mean I want to sleep with them...especially when I was only 7 or 10, or even 15!
My best friend and I in high school were in a band together, he played guitar, and I played rhythm guitar, and keyboard, and was the lead singer. We had two guys who played drums with us and three different guys played bass with us. We played mostly classic rock, some country, and 80’s rock music. Classic country, classic rock, country, and rockabilly/50’s were my favorite music. My best friend did NOT like classic country.
My best friend’s dad was a steel guitar player, and I tried to hang out with him as much as possible. They played old classic country (Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Webb Pierce, Sonny James, etc.), and they played regular gigs at the local retirement homes in our area. Every time their lead singer was ill (which unfortunately for them was often as most of their crew were in their late 50s/60s, but their singer was in his 70s), I volunteered to sing with their group. I knew and liked this old country and more importantly, I got to hang out with my best friend’s dad! Not because I had some sexual fascination with him, but because I wanted to learn how to play the steel guitar!
His dad owned his own barber shop, so he opened early mornings and mid-afternoons to early evenings (for the early crowds and when people got off work). So, we seldom got to hand out together, even though I was at his house most afternoons.
Playing the retirement home gigs gave me the opportunity to sit and practice with him and learn how to play the instrument!