18-year-old CJ is exactly the kind of gay anti-hero desperately needed right now. I say ‘anti-hero’ rather than using the term ‘role model’ because car-loving, former “bad ass” teen CJ doesn’t want to stand out or be different, despite the efforts of others; he just wants to do regular teenage things and be left alone and it’s CJ’s ‘just another average jock’ quality that ironically makes him an everyday gay hero.

When he was 16 and getting physically and verbally bullied at school and cold-shouldered by his small town community, his mother wrote a desperate letter to gay filmmaker Joe Wilson, a former local resident, after Joe announced his marriage to Dean Hamer in the town’s newspaper. This was one of the few friendly letters from his home town which Joe received after the announcement.

Drawn back to Oil Town, Pennsylvania by Kathy Springer’s plea for help and by the unexpected firestorm of controversy sparked by his wedding announcement, Joe travelled back there and filmed the events which unfolded, creating the documentary, Out In The Silence.

I’d recommend watching Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer’s gay movie doc if you can – there’s details about upcoming screenings on the film’s website, as well as where to buy it on DVD/VOD. You can also read more about Out In The Silence on The Huffington Post.