photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
Christopher, in his own words: “In a lot of ways I’ve rejected the idea of coming out. At first due to the self imposed pressure of finding or creating the ideal moment to share my sexuality. But later, after making major progress in my own self-acceptance, I found myself questioning the usefulness presented by the culture and dichotomy of being “in” or “out” of the closet. Originally a form of activism and personal emancipation, I questioned whether coming out serves the same role in a contemporary context.
Without discrediting the importance coming out can play in the lives of many gay people especially gay youth – in many ways, I see coming out as a part of a “routinized gayness,” invariably connected to race, class, and gender privilege and assimilation into the dominant mainstream heterosexual culture. In the current dialogue on the closet and coming out, there is little consideration of the multiple dimensions of race, class, religion, capital, and gender & how they can impact one’s process of self-disclosure. We should remind ourselves the closet is not universal or consistent.
It’s my hope that by being part of this project I can encourage my community to focus less on a normalized gay experience, shaped by heteronormativity, and instead begin to define our own expressions of queerness and gayness once again.”