As an early adopter of habitual YouTube use, I distinctly recall searching predictable keywords like “gay boys” and “gay sex,” as I was too scared to watch real gay porn on our family computer out of fear that it would cause malware and I would be discovered by my parents. I remember stumbling upon video montages of a young blonde guy and a hot, slightly older brunette, engaging in a series of kissing scenes paired with corny music. Finding these videos incredibly hot and titillating at the time, I soon came to realize that these guys were characters from the Showtime series ‘Queer As Folk.’

Back in those days, many YouTubers got away with uploading shitty pirated movies and TV shows, hence allowing me to view the entire series exclusively on YouTube for free. Each night I would stay up until some ungodly hour watching QAF, clear my browser history, and repeat the next evening until I had finished all 5 seasons. For me, discovering this series was a godsend, giving me an extremely campy, yet somewhat realistic exposure to gay culture during a time when I felt so severely isolated.

Now as I rewatch the series at 25 (approximately 10 years later), I look back at the lessons this show taught me during this time of critical development.