Photo by photo-nic.co.uk nic on Unsplash

Today in bizarre and questionable effects of the COVID-19 crisis, a 32-year-old man wrote in to the Chicago Tribune‘s sex advice columnist Anna Pulley to report that as a result of his coronavirus isolation he’s now experiencing a sexual attraction to men.

Wrote the man, who said he’s only been in two real relationships with girls: “During the coronavirus crisis, I have started to feel more attraction to guys (even when masturbating), although there were also some small signs that I repressed when younger. Now, it’s taking me by surprise. So, I’m asking myself if I’m gay and that’s why I am not interested in a relationship with a girl or if it’s because I have an avoidant attachment style. I never find a girl good enough. Or if it’s just temporary. Or if I’m bisexual and I can deal with that side of me that I don’t really want. I don’t want to be gay. I always imagined myself with a woman and having kids. What’s wrong with me? You can be honest.”

Anna responded that she thought he should do some exploring, and that lots of people were questioning things about themselves during the pandemic.

She added that she, too, didn’t want to be queer: “As I said, I did not want to like girls. I hoped my body would reject the idea. And for a very short while, it did, because even the gayest gay can’t ignore the culture we live in, the very real dangers and hostilities and rejections we still face from our friends and family and loved ones, even in the Year of our Lord 2020. But knowing that these dark things were possible, I still couldn’t deny the parts of myself that ached to experience the light.”

Read her full response here.