QAF pilot at PT Foundation's Sunday session

The title post is a mouthful.

Anyway, as I promoted PT Foundation's Sunday Session a couple of weeks back, it would be hypocritical if I didn't attend it myself.

So there I was, on a hazy Sunday afternoon, sitting amongst fifteen other people. Most of them are regulars; there a few not-so-regular who attend once a month, to coincide with the full moon. Or that other thing.

After a brief round of introductions, they screened the very first episode of Queer As Folk, the U.S. version. There were three Caucasians; two of them were an Australian couple visiting Kuala Lumpur. The rest were Malaysians.

More than half of us have watched the pilot episode; some have even watched till Season Four. Needless to say, we were all there for something other than just enjoying the introduction to QAF, which was to have a discussion through experiential learning.

All of us were assigned a character from the series; Brian, Michael, Emmett, Ted or Justin. Before the pilot was shown, we were asked whether we identified with the character assigned. If yes, how. Likewise if that person does not relate to the character.

I was tagged as Michael. I said, "Michael is sweet and so am I. He also has a supportive mother and so do I, somewhat."

After the show was over, the session began with a reenactment of the Justin’s first time. Philip was a sport as he agreed to act out Brian’s role. Another good sport was Russell who played Justin.

Philip really got into character when he took off his shirt and unbuckled his pants. He started with, "So what do you like to do?"

Russell/Justin: Oh, I like to play computer games, hang out with ...

Philip/Brian : In bed.

Well, I shall not bore with you with the details. I believe many of my knowlegable readers are familiar with the series.

Though I did notice a lot of groping on Russell’s you-know-where to get him excited. He was so excited that he couldn’t even read his lines properly, even though he was holding the script.

Anyway, we started a discussion going after that. We asked about our first time and was it like we just saw. Most of us did not pick up a stranger at a bar. There was one person who experienced something similar, but I think he said it was in the U.K and he was even younger than Justin then.

Following that, we talked about being bottom or top or versatile. In the series, Justin’s first time was being the one penetrated and Brian didn’t give him much of a choice. How was he to know that he is a bottom (later in the series, he turns out to be versatile) as he has virtually no experience about it? Heck, he didn’t even know about a lot of things – rimming, leather, etc.

The conversation then steered into chat rooms and how the position one prefers is asked or told very early in a chat. After age, stats and location, very often the next question or statement is top, bottom or versatile. Of course, it is always good to clear this up soon as to avoid sexual incompatibility.

From my experience, I know of a couple of people who have never had sex but they knew somehow that they were bottoms. For them, they choose to only date non-bottoms.

However, there were a few who felt differently though. Some believed that one should try it both ways before deciding on what one prefers. Robert mentioned that he knew someone who was always a top and after he tried bottoming, he was converted.

“One is never truly gay if he has not been penetrated at least once.” Someone said this or something to that effect during the course of the discussion.

In the sex scene, Justin mentioned about safe sex being taught in school and then Brian opened a condom with his teeth. Clearly, we realised that this was to get the message of safe sex across. In addition to the importance of reminding the other party to put one on (he may be on drugs like Brian was or inebriated).

It was back to first-time sexual experience again. Whether we knew what to do and what goes in where and where all the appendages are supposed to be.

For many of us in the room, and some others (you know who you are) who have a happy relationship with the Internet, broadband and CD/DVD burner, those questions have been forever answered.

Not soon after, I had to leave. I think they were there for another half an hour.

I did not attend last Sunday’s session as I was caught in the rain and thus stuck in Times Square.