Twins Come Out to Dad - 5,984,389 views

Welcome back to Vanity Fair’s weekly column about post-adolescents coming out on camera. I kid, I kid, but we have had a lot of this lately, and I apologize for that. But this video merits mention for several reasons. First, it managed to climb out of the gay YouTube ghetto and hit the big time, mostly because BuzzFeed eventually caught wind of it. So, welcome to the main stage, Rhodes Bros. Second, it’s twins. Which, y’know, is sort of a curiosity. And look how handsome they are, looking like love interests on Swan’s Crossing or something. One of them is def. cuter than the other, but I won’t say which one. (You know which one.) So, yes, look at the handsome gay twins! Sure. But the video is mostly worth mentioning because of what the twins do in the video, which is call up their dad and tell him that they are both gay, live and on camera. His reaction is pretty measured and respectful. Or so I’ve heard!

Here’s my confession: I have not watched the phone call part of the video. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Because I hate things like that, surprises and ambushes, all done on camera, with the expectation that something profound will happen. The impulse to film such things baffles me, and the videos that strange impulse gives birth to, videos like this one, are often unbearably strained and uncomfortable and staged-seeming. There’s something deeply vain and inauthentic about these videos, and I hate how they wrangle unsuspecting parents or other loved ones into the performance. These narcissistic undertones are especially glaring when the people doing the coming out (or whatever it is) are people like these Rhodes Brothers, who are “famous” only because they are handsome. (And twins.) They have done nothing to merit attention beyond being good-looking. Which is fine! Good for them. But why not then make videos of beach adventures and clothes shopping and getting ready for formal events? You know, looksy things. Why do we need all this seriousness, all this meaning, all this insistence that two dopes who want to be famous and are trading on their looks have something else to say? They don’t! And that’s fine. That’s O.K. But I wish they wouldn’t then strong-arm us into congratulating them for coming out. I’m happy they did, and happy that their dad seems cool with it. But why couldn’t they just leave it at that? Why did we need to be invited in? A stupid question in these stupid social-media times, I know. But a question nonetheless.