I’ve written previously about how one of the first things I did after I realized I was gay, was to think back at my childhood and early teen years for signs of my apparent homosexuality. And even though I didn’t perceive them as such at the time, no doubt they were there. Most boys don’t know what to make of their sexual feelings yet, and the idea of falling in love with someone is not something you’re expected to share with anyone, and hence I didn’t think it was weird that I thought the boys I saw in the movies were cute. I didn’t know what it meant to be gay, and we all knew that to admit to have a crush on a girl would be something close to social suicide, so I was quite happy with keeping my boy crushes to myself.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas must have been one of the first famous young guys I developed a crush on. I was ten when the awful family comedy Man Of The House was released, and I watched it obsessively. Though not exactly funny, it’s just the kind of sentimental story that works as reassuring for young viewers, and if I wanted to fool myself, I could be convinced that was the main reason why I couldn’t get enough of it. But now I realize it was only part of the explanation. The fact that I couldn’t take my eyes off of JTT counts for the rest. I thank my entire family for their patience in watching this very bad movie with me over and over again. Had they understood the full reason why (even I didn’t, mind you) I did, maybe they wouldn’t have been so patient after all.

My crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas was just a phase, however, even though my general attraction to guys wasn’t. I followed Home Improvement semi-regularly because of him, but as he drifted out of the public eye, he drifted from mine as well. He was unable to claim a spot on my Sexiest Males Alive list for July, but sheer nostalgia will make sure he’s a contender for the August edition, to be published sometime next week. And though he’s not as swoonworthy (or maybe my taste has changed) as he was when I was younger (there was a time back then when I did much more than swoon over any young male celeb I could catch a glimpse of, but that’s beside the point), any guy who has a physical resemblance to Little Drummer Boy Zac Hanson is still a star in my book. Which reminds me of one possible choice for the next edition of this segment.