Craig's behaviour, on the recent party night (following the rather amusing 'fear' challenge) was wincingly awful. Firstoff, there was the not-entirely-unexpected u-turn from "I one-million-percent do not fancy you" to "I would so fancy you if you were... y'know", following ingestion of perhaps 2ml of alcohol. Despite Anthony's obvious and explicit discomfort with this line of conversation (possibly because he's aware of where it leads), Craig continued pushing pushing pushing until Anthony buggered off and left him sitting.
Then, the music having started, poor Anthony's still clearly feeling self-conscious, dancing on his own, so Craig repulsively tongues Orlaith (all the while peering around for the nearest camera, presumably to ensure his moment of heterosexuality is captured for posterity) before returning to demand 'cuddles' from an increasingly irritated Anthony.
In the Diary Room with Anthony and Makosi, Craig repeatedly gropes Anthony, despite Anthony's (in the circumstances, very polite) rebuffing him, and tries to trick Anthony into kissing him on the lips. When Anthony moves Craig's hand away from his thigh, Craig slaps him. Anthony retaliates, then gets pissed off, and takes solace in the garden. Craig remains in the Diary Room, weeping, and reverting to pity-me victimy type for what seems like hours before heading out. Anthony tries to enter the Diary Room alone, to talk to Big Brother, but Craig pushes in after him, and forces a reconciliation of sorts.
I'm not sure what frustrates me more: Craig's repeated, deeply unfair blaming of a heterosexual male for being heterosexual, or the aforementioned male's apparent inability to properly defend his emotional boundaries from him. Anthony's such a nice guy (and, never having worked in Top Shop, has never known anyone like Craig) that he allows Craig to 'make-up' again and again, even though Craig's idea of 'making up' is to explain why he, Craig, is Anthony's only true friend in the House, and he shouldn't trust those eeevil bearers of the XX chromosome. Or Kemal, 'cause he's almost one.
Part of the reason Craig's behaviour makes me cringe - and one reason I suspect a lot of gay men might, incredibly, identify with him - is that I have sphincter-clenchingly embarrassing alcohol-clouded memories of trying to persuade a heterosexual man that having sex with me would be a Really Good Idea (in my defence, it only happened the once, I felt truly ashamed afterwards, and I apologised fully and unreservedly for my wheedly persistence). Anthony's being almost too gentle with him, I think, which isn't helping. His patience with Craig's unreasonable behaviour, tangibly worse whenever alcohol enters the scene (Anthony must be starting to dread BB parties), allows them both to fall back on the fantasy of being "really good mates", a position the boundaries of which Anthony finds himself increasingly unable to prevent being swamped by Craig's self-centred need... |
