Monthly Archives: June 2014

Ivory, Student, Little Rock, Arkansas

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

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Ivory, in his own words: “As a 20 year old male, being gay doesn’t really mean anything to me to be honest. I’m pretty sure I’d feel the same way on a daily basis if I were straight. The only thing different is liking a guy or a girl. At the end of the day, “Gay” is just anther label. We are all human. Doesn’t matter if you are white, black, man, woman, gay or straight.

In my life I’ve had many challenges. Primarily, coming from a very low income home. I had to learn how to survive at a very young age. I had to also overcome school issues. I was very shy in primary school. I refuse to do work and got a warning that if I didn’t start showing improvement, I would be transferred to “special” classes. Obviously I changed and began to preform a lot better because I knew I had no problems learning. I had to step it up and with a lot of help, I am now on my way to my 3’rd year in college and I also have a very good job. That’s what happens when you never give up.

The gay community in Little Rock is very interesting. We don’t have a big openly gay cast but most of the locals for the most part support us. We normally have no problems in public other than a couple of occasional “Sighs” and “frowns”. But nothing too drastic. For the most part, we don’t have that much drama. We all know and love each other. We’re pretty much one big happy family.

I came out of the closet April 30, 2013. I had a boyfriend at the time and we decided it was too hard to hold a relationship and be in the closet at the same time. But if we came out, we had to come out with a bang. That day we took a photo us kissing each other and posted it on Facebook. After 24 hours it received 1.1K likes and over 350 comments. We were overwhelmed of how many people saw us and heard about us. News spread all over Little Rock. We would go to parties and people we didn’t even knew would run up to us asking us questions and says they were big fans. But, we knew the news would spread to our families. I returned home that summer expecting a lot of disappointment. I walked in the door and my mom was smiling. Her exact words were. “So when will I get to meet my soon to be step son”. I was in tears. My mom accepted me being gay. I was so afraid that she would be upset at me. It turns out that all of my family accepted me as well. It was a huge sign of relief.

If I were to give my younger self advice, It would be to never take anything and anyone for granted. I would tell me to listen to how others feel and don’t be selfish. I would also tell him to never give up on anything and always strive for the best things in life because he is worth it and so much more.”

Chris, Flutist, Memphis, Tennessee

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

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Chris, in his own words: “Moving to Memphis has really changed what it means for me to be gay. Having always lived in huge, gay-positive cities (Toronto and New York), it was always very easy to take a certain amount of privilege for granted. I come from a very supportive family and have experienced a really limited amount of homophobia in my life. I also had a number of wonderful queer role models from an early age, and I was curious enough that topics like basic Queer Theory, Gender Studies, LGBT History, etc. were a large part of my discourse with these people, particularly in college.

Coming to Memphis showed me how lucky I was to have had all of those things. Not to say that Memphis is an unenlightened or back-water town: many Memphians are very progressive, particularly when compared to lots of other cities in the South. But it struck me especially in volunteering at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center (mglcc.org) – I would meet people, often young people, who just hadn’t ever heard about Stonewall, or gender-neutral pronouns, or whatever else…I gained so much respect for these folks. It makes me think of my coming out as a kind of stepping into something that was already prepared for me, at least in my head. Coming out in the South must be so much more a process of finding oneself than joining a group.

The other fascinating thing about working at the Center was coming up close with the people who built it: pioneers at a time when it really was radical and potentially dangerous to be openly gay in Memphis. Another instance of a group of people showing a strength and courage that I have just never needed to find in myself. So many people downplay the importance of their gay-ness in their lives: “my sexual orientation is the least interesting thing about me”, etc. While it might be true that there are more interesting things about me than my sexual orientation, and while things may be different in twenty years or if I move back home, Memphis has shown me how important it is to be strong in my gay identity. It seems to me the gays of the present have a responsibility to carry on the cultural legacy of the gays of the past, while providing a good example for the gays of the future.”

Ryan and Hunter, Raleigh, North Carolina

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

Photo by Kevin Truong

Photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Hunter, in his own words:“My name is Hunter. I am a 22 year-old native of North Carolina currently living at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. I came out of the closet Valentines day of last year. My journey out of the closet and becoming who I am today is one I am proud to share; however, finding the love of my life is why I am emailing you today.

I met Ryan mid-august of 2013 in Raleigh, NC via OkCupid. Both of us were definite “haters” of online dating but participated due to deviant peer pressure of friends. I was on the verge of deleting my account since I had plans to move to Nevada in a week but one night Ryan messaged me asking to hang out. Ryan had just moved to Raleigh from Clemson, SC and was looking for someone to casually hang out with and show him the city. Thinking this was a harmless commitment, I said yes! It was a night of random story sharing and me serving as an obnoxious city tour guide. I felt a connection.

We parted ways with a kiss I wanted to last forever but knew had no future. That was it, so i thought. I went back home, packed my belongings and hit the road to Nevada. Each day away from him I could not help but dream about how wonderful of a guy he was. We maintained communication throughout my trip and settling in, both knowing we were avoiding the reality that we would never see each other again. A month went by and we only grew closer. Every night we would talk or skype just because. I knew I liked him and he the same but we were both denying any form of relationship. Mid-september I made up an excuse to return to Raleigh to “catch-up with friends” and he and I can hang out. I booked my flight and headed east. I landed in Raleigh and there he was, standing at baggage claim waiting for me. I knew from his smile and our embrace that this was more then a friendship. The brief visit seemed like a lifetime of bliss. The whole time I had this feeling inside that I had not felt before and too confused to talk about it. Love.

Standing before security, back at the airport, we stared in to each others eyes, both full of tears, knowing exactly how momentous the visit was and how much we truly cared for each other. We had both found love for the first time.

Ever since that September visit we see each other once a month for an extended weekend in a place of our choice ( San Diego on March 14th!!). We are 2700 miles a part for now but every day, every hour, every minute I’m with him, I know I have found love. Ryan is the love of my life and I want to share our story for all to hear and understand that it does exists no matter how shitty things are. I am planning to move back to Raleigh and back to Ryan for I will do anything to be in his arms and see his face every day for the rest of my life.

Thank you for all you are doing Kevin. Your story and project inspires me. I would love to be a part of your project if you are looking for participants.

Stay strong.”