*SPOILER ALERT*

Benji’s liberal parents vs. Victor’s religious parents 

At the end of Episode 7 of Season 2 of Love, Victor, Benji and Victor get into a pretty explosive fight. Victor tells Benji that he doesn’t understand what Victor’s been going through with his mom because Benji has white liberal parents. Benji didn’t have to experience growing up in a religious household where same sex relationships are not exactly accepted, which makes Victor’s relationship with his mom a bit complicated since he came out to his parents. 

Based on what has been seen and heard of Benji’s parents, they seem pretty accepting of his sexuality. When he first came out, his dad did bring him to a strip club and pay for a lap dance, but when that didn’t change anything about Benji being gay, his dad dropped it. Both parents also seem very warm and welcoming towards Victor during the dinner scene on Benji’s birthday. Victor’s mom, on the other hand, had a very religious upbringing. Victor coming out has challenged her beliefs surrounding same sex relationships because it involves a lot of undoing what she’s been told and led to belief. Ultimately, she wants to be okay with Victor being gay because she still loves her son and knows he’s a good person. That’s just not what her religion or the priest at her church has been telling her, and she has to work a bit harder to fully accept her son’s sexuality. 

However, this causes some complications in the family because she doesn’t want Victor’s little brother, Adrian, to know about Victor’s sexuality just yet. She thinks he’s too young to understand and that it could be confusing to him, which upsets Victor because it still feels like she’s a bit ashamed or uncomfortable with his sexuality. Victor talks about this with Rahim, when they run into each other in the dark room at school. Rahim also has religious parents, and because of this, he’s afraid to tell them that he’s gay. Victor and Rahim bond over the fact that even though their parents don’t understand them, they don’t also want to lose them, and that can be a difficult thing to balance. 

It was good for Victor to have this conversation with Rahim because they understood each other and were on the same page. This is an area that Benji seems to struggle with. When Victor’s mom accidentally walks in on Victor and Benji having sex, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to Benji, but for Victor and his mom, it was horrifying. Victor tells Benji that even if his mom did walk in on him and a girl, no parent ever wants to see their kid having sex. 

Benji and Victor definitely come from two different worlds, and each of their coming out experiences were met with different reactions and struggles. But hopefully, especially in Victor’s case, things will get easier as time passes. 

The Trevor Project: A national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth

It Gets Better Project: An organization whose mission is to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe.

GLAAD: An organization that uses media platforms to increase positive LGBTQ+ awareness and information.