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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Ten Year-Old Hangs Himself

posted by on February 16 at 16:52 PM

This news should please Chris Crocker’s haters:

A boy of ten hanged himself after telling his mother that he wanted to become a girl, an inquest was told yesterday.

Cameron McWilliams, who liked to wear girls’ underwear, asked if he could start using make-up just days before committing suicide, the hearing heard. His mother, who described him as a lonely young boy, told the coroner: “It was apparent he was unhappy and said he wanted to be a girl. He did like girls’ things.”

She said he had been teased after being found in his half-sister’s underwear, but had been forbidden from wearing make-up until he was much older.

Via Queerty.

RSS icon Comments

1

Brilliant reasoning, Mr. Savage. I guess I forgot that boys who want to become girls are creepshow/freakshow attention whores.

Posted by Mr. Poe | February 16, 2008 5:00 PM
2

I knew a six-year old boy who liked to wear colorful socks - and got teased as being a girl for it.

Kids can be pretty cruel.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 16, 2008 5:01 PM
3

Mr. Poe, my fine fellow, as I wrote the other day, there are people that don't like Crocker on his merits and there are people who are absolutely furious about it, and most of the latter cite, more than anything else, Crocker's effeminacy. Those haters are constantly calling on Crocker to kill himself. So it follows that this news should please them: this 10 year-old won't grow up to be a fit-for-suicide effeminate gay man (or MTF). This 10 year-old is dead.

And not all ten year old boys that are fascinated by make-up and girls clothes grow up to be girls. Some are just sissy gay boys that grow up to be sissy gay men. Surely you know this.

Posted by Dan Savage | February 16, 2008 5:07 PM
4

I don't think this has anything to do with Chris Crocker. Maybe his haters don't like him because they don't like his art and he's annoying and not because he's effeminate? I'm no hater, but I don't get too excited about him.

I'd say leave the guy out of this and concentrate on that poor ten-year-old.

Posted by me | February 16, 2008 5:22 PM
5

Horrible :(

Posted by Tiffany | February 16, 2008 5:24 PM
6

I think it's absurd to believe that Crocker's effeminacy is the main reason those threats exist. It's the combination of everything about him. There isn't anything likable about that thing.

I love how you're a hater if you're the least bit repulsed with Chris Crocker and have the nerve to pass any judgment on someone whose only goal in life is to be famous. Not to mention, if it weren't for his haters, he wouldn't be "famous".

Yes, telling someone to commit suicide is childish. But so is Chris Crocker. And so am I.

I see what you're saying, but I had to rip on you in one way or another. I love you. (Call me!)

Posted by Mr. Poe | February 16, 2008 5:25 PM
7

Chris Crocker should be hated because I am aware of his existence.

A boy of ten who hanged himself should be... SLOG fodder?

Posted by umvue | February 16, 2008 6:15 PM
8

Poe - you are a boring cock sucking pig .... and the real reason you react the way you do is since you are so boring, you get little attention. Sissy gay men, they often know how to work the room and not only do they get attention they get the men.

Been there and I sucked more sweet cock during those twenty years than you can even imagine if all you meager fantasies were combined.

Poe, get over your silly lack of real feelings and shut up when you are out of your league ....

Chris Crocker has some real talent. At his age the ability to project and emote is an undeveloped amazing natural dramatic talent. And he has years to go. The right coach and director can put him in a film, French?, which changes society and becomes a classic. (The Mathew Sheppard Story ??). He has it. Few do. And many bitches are envious.

Cheers and roses Dan, defending the sissy boys and effimate gay men is great. Keep on.

Posted by John | February 16, 2008 6:24 PM
9

He wasn't given a hard time by his family over being interested in girls' things, so why would he want to die? But he had shown a great interest in media reports of other kids who had hung themselves recently, and had a tendency to experiment. I think this is a story about copy cat suicide, not gender roles.

Not that I'm criticizing the Stranger for laughing in the face of suicide prevention experts who have asked you not to publicize suicide in the flippant way you do. Experts are stupid and the Stranger is cool.

Posted by elenchos | February 16, 2008 6:25 PM
10

I have no problem with femininity or homosexuality at all, but Chris Crocker is a little BITCH.
"Real talent"? "Project and emote dramatic talent"? He whines like a spoiled whore simply because he's a spoiled whore, not because he can act in any way, shape, or form.

The ten year old suiciding is sad, particularly because I'm a fan of transvestitism myself.

Posted by Nobody of consequence | February 16, 2008 6:41 PM
11

nobody, really - - Chris has you hooked. Some training and he can hook an audience for two hours, sitting with open mouths, tears, and empathy.

Case made.

So glad you have "nothing against Homos", what the fuck?

Guess what, the talk is of sissy gay men, the young who as in this case are mirrors of our own childhoods, and then later when the are mocked by not being "butch" men.

Bet you are one hell of an ugly women in your Goodwill garb. But I have nothing against straight cross dressers, just do not be whorish .... no, no ... prim and proper walking thru the Bellevue Square Mall on Sat..... shopping for panties. BE VERY CAREFUL if you go off C. Hill dressed.

Posted by John | February 16, 2008 7:00 PM
12

Uh, what.
Chris Crocker's only claim to fame is bitching for 2 minutes and 11 seconds about Britney Spears. Not two hours of empathy-drawing top-class theatre.

Case shattered.

Your random insults to me have no bearing on me, but the irony should be sufficient enough to at least make it aware to you, no?

Posted by Nobody of consequence | February 16, 2008 7:21 PM
13

Doesn't it always turn out the next day that the angry guy defending Chris Crocker is Chris Crocker?

If it is, hi Chris.

Posted by elenchos | February 16, 2008 7:32 PM
14

Truth be told, I think the 10 year old was kind of disturbed... Not because he wanted to dress up like a girl, but because he hung himself because his family wouldn't let him wear makeup til he was older. TIL HE WAS OLDER. My parents told me the same thing when I was a ten year old girl. :-/

Posted by Marty | February 16, 2008 7:58 PM
15

#13 - hardly, what a strange conjecture from a seemingly intelligent poster who has not a clue about sissy gay boys

and I am not angry at all - just calling bullshit - I think that this guy has tons of latent talent - and the conformist cerebral too cool, gay or straight, set will never understand that

I hope stardom and the attending fame and fortune await him in the next decade

stay with politics elenchos - your ruminations in that sphere are OK

let us sissies talk of each other, young and old, with some sure knowledge

Posted by John | February 16, 2008 8:02 PM
16

Anyone who doesn't think Dan has a point here should seriously check out the YouTube comments about Chris Crocker; and it's not like one or two, but a zillion of the most over-the-top Nazi bullshit rants that has nothing to do with whether you think Crocker is annoying or whatever on the merits, but simply people who want to kill him because he's different/effeminate (and obviously isn't afraid to flaunt that). So yes, there are going to be certain 10-year olds who are acutely aware of this tidal wave of hatred coming in their direction, and sadly (because they're only 10 years old), they might not (yet) have the ability to say fuck off to the world. I wonder if this kid ever saw Chris Crocker's video/rant about the word "normal"? It's hard to know, but I would bet money that there are at least a few kids out there now who are NOT killing themselves because of CC, which pretty much makes him my hero.

Posted by thegayrecluse | February 16, 2008 8:12 PM
17

It's sad that there is so much hatred against effeminate gay men. I, too, have seen the many threats directed at Chris at Youtube. So so sad.

Posted by Leelee | February 16, 2008 8:36 PM
18

When did you last clean your vagina, John? It smells like simpleton.

Posted by Mr. Poe | February 16, 2008 8:47 PM
19

From the article, it sounds to me like he was experimenting with "the choking game"; not suicidal. Very sad.

It's nice that his family was so accepting of his liking to wear girls underwear.

Posted by SpookyCat | February 16, 2008 8:54 PM
20

I wonder what Chris Crocker has to do with anything? He is about as relevant to the human race as Paris Hilton, or his idol Britney Spears. He is a joke. And it has nothing to do with his sexual orientation for me. If I was a feminine man, gay or straight, I would be damned ashamed to have that boy as a representative. He is nothing, completely irrelevant. As is anyone who puts Spears on a pedestal. Shes a waste of space too. And he does'nt deserve recognition for his idiot rants. I read the comments, and saw the Youtube postings, and yes I think its a bunch of hateful bullshit. So is our nation. Is anyone honestly surprised at those responses? Come on, people have their head in the sand, and they are hateful and ignorant, and Crocker brings that out in them. That sucks. But that doesnt excuse people from making a big deal out of his bullshit wasteful ramblings about bullshit wasteful Britney Spears. It is all irrelevant. Kind of like the Clemens hearings in Congress. What a waste. Fuck em. Onto something relevant. Please don't use Crocker and the word talent in the same sentence, his 15 minutes of fame shows he has none!

Posted by ZWBush | February 16, 2008 10:32 PM
21

I have no idea (and couldn't care less) who Chris Crocker is, but my first thought (with apologies to Letterman) was:

Crocker? Crocker! I just met her!

Oh yeah, 10 yr olds offing themselves is really disturbing for way too many reasons

Posted by drewl | February 16, 2008 10:34 PM
22

I'm with ZW Bush. I don't hate Crocker because he's effeminate. I hate him because he's a vapid, vain, vicious, superficial little starfucker who's further infecting the already-putrid media landscape with his cheap histrionics. I hate him and I hate everything he loves and aspires to.

It has nothing to do with the tragic death of an unstable 10-year-old. If anything, perhaps he saw Crocker's videos and decided to off himself rather than turn into THAT.

Posted by Donovan | February 16, 2008 10:40 PM
23

oh Donovan, you got me beat. I guess I don't hate him though, hes not worth the emotion, the heartbeat. Just too damn irrelevant for my half functioning brain. Damn sleep deprivation. Hey Chris, how about Iraq? Or Fisa? Poverty? Gay rights? Equality? Anthing? Read any good books lately?

Posted by ZWBush | February 16, 2008 11:08 PM
24

Like @21, I have no idea who Chris Crocker is. But then I'm a middle aged straight guy--how would I know?

It's very disturbing to see the death of a child, especially if it was self inflicted. His parents seemed to be accepting, but if he was bullied at school he may not have known how to deal with it. May this little boy rest in peace.

Posted by RainMan | February 16, 2008 11:42 PM
25

@24 Middle aged straight guys unite! Wait, that sounds kind of gay...

Posted by drewl | February 17, 2008 12:23 AM
26

It is really sad about the boy.

I don't even think Chris Crocker exactly asked to be famous. He was just making youtube videos to probably find a way to be a star in his own mind and in his own way. Who knows. But seriously, he isn't as vapid and stupid as you might think. Watch some more of his videos before you judge based on the one Britney Spears crying thing.

And, I agree: the connection of saying that Crocker's haters would be happy was relevant, because of the threads that bind all effeminate boys, if only on the surface.

Posted by Kristin | February 17, 2008 1:43 AM
27

whew, these oh so sure they hate this and that posters sound like they need a much better sex life

wait till Crocker does the I love Obama U tube - 20 million hits, free to the campaign, in a week - could cost Mc Cain the presidency, squirm haters

prudes and uptight screamers have always amazed me in the gay community: what is their vision for a better world?

the mom of the femme kid should have given him space at home, there must have been some horrible response at school or among other kids in the hood - god what a sad thing

today I discovered one of my nephews is living with his mom and so is his boyfriend. both just out of high school, the couple both working to get some money for their own place, all is cool with family from Grandma to this uncle and mom and dad ... welcome to the new century

they all live in Puyallup, hardly C. Hill

Posted by John | February 17, 2008 3:41 AM
28

Yes, reading the entire article (and not just the headline) shows that it might be more than "rural boy bullied until hangs himself". The parents had even told him he could wear make-up when he gets older. There is also talk it could have been a copy-cat stunt, those suicides in Wales would have been daily news for a conservative tabloid like The Daily Mail. It's tragic and incredibly sad whether happening in the UK or a trailer park in Oklahoma, though.

The Daily Mail is a pretty sensationalistic, Thatcherite-leaning tabloid in Britain. While I do think this horrible story is worth forwarding on, several times now I've seen The Stranger post Daily Mail stories as if it was coming from The NY Times.

This story probably wasn't printed to make people aware of bullying and sympathetic to their feminine sons and nephews, but rather to highlight the freaks.

When posting a story from a UK tabloid, I think it would be useful to add some context.

Posted by JJ | February 17, 2008 9:09 AM
29

Pretty ignorant, Savage: you think the basis of the Crocker hate is simply because he's gay? That would make it easier for you to be oh-so-very-special because you're gay and all, and we should ALL know that it makes you so damned interesting. Wrong. I don't like the sound of Chris Crocker's voice - it's worse than nails on a chalkboard. I don't give a damn about his sexuality. I just can't watch that awful "leave Britney alone" vid because of the nasaly whine that kid makes. You'd love it if people hated him because of his sexuality wouldn't you? Sorry, not here; move along...

Posted by Your sexuality is boring dude | February 17, 2008 9:43 AM
30

Wait - I just thought of more people I can't stand because of the way they talk:


- Gilbert Gottfried (maybe spelled that name wrong)

- The guy who sang "Winchester Cathedral"


- Katharine Hepburn

Posted by @29 again | February 17, 2008 10:43 AM
31

"Those haters are constantly calling on Crocker to kill himself. So it follows that this news should please them: this 10 year-old won't grow up to be a fit-for-suicide effeminate gay man (or MTF). This 10 year-old is dead."

"So it follows"? You're actually contending that the real suicide of an anonymous, confused child on another continent should please those same people who wish for the death of an abrasive, melodramatic, adult media-whore? The only similarity the two share is a penchant for cross-dressing. Way to use the tragic death of a ten-year-old to defend Chris Crocker's internet celebrity from his "haters."

PS: "Haters"? When did the Slog become a bad episode of Maury Povich?

Posted by Bible Logic | February 17, 2008 11:58 AM
32

"Leave Brittany Spears alone"
- Ben Franklin 1772

Dam a 10 year old killing himself? How is that even possible?

Posted by Sargon Bighorn | February 17, 2008 8:27 PM
33

How many more ten year olds will we allow Chris Crocker to drag to their early deaths?

Posted by NapoleonXIV | February 17, 2008 10:07 PM
34

What NapoleonXIV said.

Posted by Mr. Poe | February 18, 2008 8:21 AM
35

Ten years old is way too young to be wearing makeup.

But, do little queer kids need a supportive school/playground environment, or can they survive mainstreaming?

Posted by old fashioned thinker | February 18, 2008 3:02 PM
36

My two cents: while the majority of the slander towards Chris is probably homophobic trash-talk, I cannot say it ALL is. I am gay. I'm not overtly butch nor effeminate, nor do I have anything wrong with any point of the spectrum.

However, I DO have a problem with bad acting. I do have a problem with people who go over top simply to garner as large a response as possible. Chris is an example of such a person. His little tirade was embarrassing to watch- not because he was effeminate, but because his screeching, melodramatic drivel was worse than watching a porn-star attempt Shakespeare.

He is just an annoying person. He sounds like someone straining, harshly.

Does this mean he deserves death threats or even non-death-related threats of physical violence? Of course not. But it does, in my book, warrant a "god, shut the hell up you attention-mongering whore!" or whatever.

Posted by Tickles McGee | February 20, 2008 10:02 AM

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