The Aoyama family is a quiet family of four, but with Dad away at work most of the time it’s usually just the mom, Tomoko, and the two boys Hiroki and Yuri at home. Lately Tomoko has noticed that her older son, Hiroki, is acting a bit more flustered and a little more secretive and she thinks he might be gay. In fact she’s pretty sure, from blurting out “boyfriend” in a discussion and hurriedly insisting that he meant “girlfriend,” to internet search histories full of terms like “male nude,” Hiroki isn’t nearly as sly about this as he thinks!
But it’s no concern to Tomoko either way, she loves both of her boys and tries to let them both know that being gay won’t change that.
This is a very cute and simple story of a mom who is trying to subtlety be an ally to her son, even if her son doesn’t notice it. I can imagine it now, Hiroki coming out to her years later only to be bowled over when she says she knew it all along, he’s just not very good at hiding his emotions even when he’s trying! So while the title may be I Think Our Son Is Gay, it’s established immediately that Hiroki likes guys (and doesn’t seem interested in girls at all) and there’s no much doubt in Tomoko’s mind that he’s gay. Even Hiroki’s younger brother seems to have picked up on it; the word “gay” never comes up in conversation between Yuri and Tomoko but their conversations reminded me of talking about my gay classmates at my Catholic high school amongst my friends and how we would try to be subtle and quiet about it, never quite sure how the adults would react if they “found out.”
While Tomoko and Yuri are completely, if quietly, supportive of Hiroki, the big challenge that lies ahead is his father. Perhaps this is where Hiroki’s obliviousness comes from, even though he’s not home as much, the mere idea of “perhaps our son is gay” hasn’t crossed his mind at all (somehow!) and it leads to him blurting out some homophobic things. No slurs or insults, the story is too light-hearted and sweet for that, but careless statements like “You hear about that new TV show, Lover Men? ….Well, no matter how entertaining they say it is, seeing two guys kiss and stuff is pretty gross, isn’t it?” Fortunately Tomoko is quick to gently push-back, saying her husband should give the show a shot, couching it in terms of “it’ll give you something new to talk about with your young coworkers” before almost off-handedly mentioning that it might cause him to change his mind. I think there’s hope for Hiroki’s father — again the story is too good-natured for me to imagine a truly sour fight, but that moment was certainly a relatable one. I think many queer folks, and non-queer allies, have been in this position, of having to conduct a risk assessment on the fly to figure out how to respond to an unexpected topic of conversation like that, all while swallowing the awkwardness of even hearing someone else say something so crass!
This isn’t Okura’s first time being published in English and the art here feels even more pared down compared to That Blue Sky Feeling; the thick lines and restrained use of screen tones let your eyes flit over the pages easily and keep up with the quick stories and short chapters. The volume itself is rather slim, it’s 120 pages but feels even shorter than that, which I think was a good call on the publishers part. It’s a slice of life story about a family and if the volume had been too long the story would have felt like it was dragging on and lost its charm. Which isn’t to say that I’m not looking forward to volume two, since I completely am, but a small dose of Tomoko’s quiet observations and Hiroki’s sincere and sweet actions go a long way.