“And,” added Miriam, “different for…for…” She waved her hands in a way that was probably intended to communicate for gay people without her having to say the words. “Men aren’t like women. You have different needs.” I wanted to ask what kind of needs, exactly. But I wasn’t here to challenge casual gender-essentialism-slash-homophobia, I was here to support Oliver. So I stayed quiet. “You wouldn’t understand this,” Miriam went on heterosplaining, “but women need commitment.” “Whereas men,” David chimed in, “are dogs.” Oliver glanced sharply up from his own hands, which he’d spent most of the
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