Gavin was always cute when

[inkling]

because though they don't hide it from their friends, they're a bit scared of Mr Brittas! And they'd decided not to tell him about it... he'd probably try and convert them or something.

[oikie]

I understand, but when Gavin says: "You think he's a homosexual?" he says it like he doesn't believe it. I can't explain, for me it's just a weird scene.

Just like in season 6 when Tim asks Gavin if he likes Penny's eyes and Gavin replies: "Well everyone does." I always thought Gavin was a bit bisexual.

[inkling]

yes, i always thought Gavin was bisexual too. Which would explain a bit more why Tim panicks.
I thought the 'you think he's a homosexual?' tone of voice was supposed to sound disbelieving because Gavin's pretending he doesn't know anything about it. So that he can pretend 'don't be silly, of course he's not!' He's also a bit disbelieving about the term "left footer"

[oikie]

inkling said:

I thought the 'you think he's a homosexual?' tone of voice was supposed to sound disbelieving because Gavin's pretending he doesn't know anything about it. So that he can pretend 'don't be silly, of course he's not!' He's also a bit disbelieving about the term "left footer"

That makes sense . Still I think Gavin isn't totally secure about his homosexuality. He also lies alot, that bothers me. Their relationship doesn't look very stable at some times.

[inkling]

He's secure that he loves Tim, but i don't think he handles the 'social consequences' very well, which is why he hides.

Oh, and i figured out that the whole 'you think he's a homosexual' thing was Gavin being 'ha what are you talking about you crazy man of course he's not!', by his body language. His eyes went wide and panicky and then sort of 'i'm lying to you' and he was sitting weirdly in the chair.

[oikie]

I must look at it again!

[Kanna]

I don't know, but that whole scene feels very familiar to me; one of those moments when you're suddenly all wary and not quite believing things are going the way they are, and you're trying to calculate what's best to say... Add onto that the fact that he came there on Brittas' behalf, because Tim wanted him to, and Gavin's tense, controlled weirdness seems about right.

The carefully explicit pronunciation of "homosexual" is quite brilliant, really, when it comes to calling Brittas on what he's actually saying.

[timandgavin4ever]

i think gavin was just really shocked at the way Brittas was insinuating it. and he knows what brittas would do, he would fire tim of put him out the back where he can't come into contact with the public because he'd be "trying to protect the people" etc etc

and yes, gavin is bisexual i am very sure. it makes tim very worried some times and gavin, now that he is with tim, is happy but not out because he still hasn't come to terms with it himself sometimes. e.g. being ashamed

[inkling]

but it's so cute how he's very very obvious to the staff members how he's with Tim. Like he has no problems talking to them about his relationship, mentioning they're a couple etc... But with Mr Brittas and 'outsiders', and family members, NO WAY.

Yes, that scene seemed 'familiar' to me too.

[David]

inkling said:

because though they don't hide it from their friends, they're a bit scared of Mr Brittas! And they'd decided not to tell him about it... he'd probably try and convert them or something.

It is strange how gays handle this issue in their lives. I have a number of gay friends and even those that I think of as being 'out' are still careful about just who they let know about their sexuality.

I am not 'out' at work though several people are in on my secret and I feel very at ease with them.

If I was in the same position as Tim and Gavin, I would most certainly not tell Brittas about my private life.

David

[inkling]

And fair enough too! I wouldn't want to tell Brittas ANYTHING about my personal life. Look at poor Carole! She was accused of being a very *friendly person many times.

edit: okay, 'a very friendly person' is apparently what this forum changes the S word mean ing 'a promiscuous person' to.

[Kanna]

My Mum still gets upset that I'm out at work - she's waiting for some kind of disaster to happen. At her work a gay man was more or less forced out of his job by a homophobic boss, and it's hard to make her understand I'd prefer to risk that than act ashamed. And TBE is about a decade old!

As far as Gavin and Tim go, I think to some degree they're being very, very sensible to be cautious. The very first time they met Brittas, they found out that he could be quite discriminatory about things like STDs, and IIRC that time period tended to associate gay men and STDs quite strongly. And then there was Brittas' charming little talk to Gavin at the end of S1.

Still, I do think Tim is quite prepared and probably would prefer to be open everywhere, not just with his friends. Not just "Pregnant", but other things he says and does in fornt of Brittas don't really indicate that he's trying to pass as straight.

[inkling]

No, he's not trying to pass as straight, he's just acting as himself. Gavin isn't trying to pass as 'straight', he just omitts things.

[Kanna]

inkling said:

Gavin isn't trying to pass as 'straight', he just omitts things.

Seems pretty damn close to "passing" for me, especially when his fiancee was involved. I make allowances for Gavin because his boss is bigoted, his background is discouraging and Gavin is weak natured in general, bless him, but "omission" isn't something I generally consider honest or self-respecting, especially when there's a long-term relationship involved. I just think Tim deserves rather better than that, and there's hints that he feels so, too.

~cherishes 'Surving Christmas' as a moment in whcih Gavin had his priorities straight, so to speak, for once~

[inkling]

I always feel that most of their problems are like the writers saying 'hey, lets make the gay guys do this, because it's funny!'