Eugene Heffron

Surviving the Culture War as a “Side B” Believer

In my years before finding Your Other Brothers, coming to terms with my sexuality was extremely difficult as it seemed there were only two options for my future. These two options reflected the polarized extremes embodying the culture war.

So I Kinda Sorta Have an Asexual Side?

Don’t get me wrong, I am completely and utterly attracted to men. I’ve never been attracted to a woman in my life. And yet my attraction to the same sex doesn’t go quite as far as many others’ do. Ultimately, I just have no desire for sex with other men even though I’m attracted to them.

Longing for Intimacy with Straight Guy Friends

I just have a longing to be accepted, seen as a man among men. To feel like one of the guys. Yes, I’ve experienced those feelings with fellow “Side B” friends, but sometimes it only feels like one side of the coin.

A Conversation with Your Other Brothers in This Pandemic

With most of the U.S. and much of the world in quarantine or shelter-in-place due to COVID-19, we gathered our featured authors for a conversation on the challenges and calls to growth through these strange times. We hope you feel a little less alone in joining our conversation.

Corona ConvoCast 07: Tom and Eugene and the Side B Capital of the World!

Tom welcomes first-timer Eugene to the podcast to talk about writing some of YOB’s most engaging blogs, his artistic process, losing his job amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the invaluable connections he’s made through YOB and other outlets in St. Louis: the Side B capital of the world!

The Struggle to Forgive Yourself for Sexual Failures

During one phone call, things took an unusual turn. He confided that he’d started talking to a guy. They’d started out on a Skype call together which had turned very sexual. He told me how deeply ashamed this call had made him, and he seemed to break on the phone. “Am I still a virgin?” he asked. “I feel like I’ve lost my virginity after this. I’ve done something sexual with a guy, and I can’t take it back!”

The First Same-Sex Attracted Christian Man I Met

I enjoyed telling him my story and my struggles with faith and sexuality. I could talk to him about my failings and slip-ups and didn’t feel any judgment or disapproval. I talked to him about my deep loneliness, longing for brotherhood and friendships – to be accepted by other men and yet met with rejection or cold indifference. It felt liberating talking to someone about this stuff for the first time.

Why You Should Pursue “Side B” Community

Our community is like a family. These past few years I’ve grown such a huge family, far beyond my biological one. It’s like I have cousins and, yes, brothers living in cities all over the world – family who would offer me a couch if ever I passed through town. That is an incredible feeling.

Why I Love “Stand By Me”

“Stand By Me” makes me pine for what I wish I could have had in my childhood but also makes me grateful for the friendships I have now as an adult. So, where to begin with this movie? Honestly, there’s a lot. The movie’s focus is the relationships among the four boys. They all come from broken families and bond together to form their own family.

Befriending Straight Guys: The Final Frontier

Ah, straight guys — also known as “the normal ones.” What a load of complicated feelings I have toward them. I see straight guys now and again in groups together. It evokes more of an emotional longing. A deeply profound longing. It’s a feeling of wanting to be like them, to be one of them. To be normal and accepted by ordinary men and be like ordinary men. But it can’t be that way. I’m different.