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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

I’m a boy in my teens and I’m worried about my oldest friend. We’ve hit a divide over politics

Portrait of two young men Giovanni Cariani Vittore Belliniano 1456-1529
‘A lot of people try on all kinds of guises then shed them again before adulthood.’ Painting: Portrait of Two Young Men, attributed to Giovanni Cariani. Photograph: Peter Horree/Alamy

I’m a boy in my late/middle teens, and I’m worried about my oldest friend. He’s also my cousin and, as you might expect, we’ve known each other our entire lives. We’re the same age, similar interests and we’ve been extremely close since early childhood, however as we’ve grown up we’ve hit a divide: politics.

I support slow progression over generations into socialism, whereas he’s a rightwinger who says he’s “centrist”. He also has slightly edgy views around things which have polluted the minds of our peers, saying things such as “I can see Tate’s point, the world has come to discriminate against men,” or “It’s no longer acceptable for men to be masculine.”

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