Author Archives: thegaymenproject

About thegaymenproject

The Gay Men Project is a photo project by New York based photographer Kevin Truong. Truong received his BFA in from photography from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, and his photo credits include the New York Times.

Rodbernson, Choreographer, Portland, Oregon

photo by Kevin Truong

Rodbernson, in his own words: “Being gay to me means to be proud and to be unapologetically sorry for being who you are. It means you don’t need anyone’s permission to love who you want. It means having the courage to be fierce.

One of my challenges was finding true love. I’m only 21, but finding love isn’t easy. It takes a lot to open up to someone. It takes trust, commitment, and communication to be in a relationship. I’m in the pursuit to happiness. One thing that makes me happy is dance. Movement is what keeps me going to reach my goals. I’m currently choreographing for local performers and hope to be successful as a choreographer. One day I’ll own my own dance studio to passionately teach dance as my job. Wake up. DANCE. Sleep. Repeat. That’s my dream, and no one can take that away from me.

The gay community in Portland is very small. Everyone seems to know someone through a friend or foe. Seems like everyone is partying on the daily basis.

I came out to my mother through a letter. I told her I was raped at the age of 6. She didn’t believe me. She kicked me out of my home at the age of 16. I had to grow up at a young age. Because of this I learned how to be independent and to trust no one.

Advice I would have given to my younger self: “Don’t cry over boys. Do some squats and make them cry wishin they still had that ass.”

Mic, Banker, Paris

photo by Kevin Truong

Mic, in his own French words: “Pour moi, gay est une personne normale qui vit sa sexualité : la sexualité est privée et doit être épanouie. Il faut savoir se découvrir soi même.
Je pense que ce n’est pas un choix et qu’il faut vivre sa vie telle qu’on la ressent ; c’est aussi vrai pour son travail.

(les chalenges) Ne pas en parler à mon travail sauf à mon assistante ; ce n’est pas facile dans une banque alors qu’il y a autant de gays dans les banques que dans les autres entreprises.

(La communauté gay a Paris) Il y a le Marais et le reste de Paris : suis plutôt du reste de Paris où il y a aussi de nombreux gays que je connais et avec qui je dialogue, partage, sors, …

(l’histoire de ton coming-out) Avec ma famille, tout a été naturel et même ma mère a demandé à mon “mari” de s’occuper de moi. Avec les parents et les frères de mon “mari”, aucun souci
Avec mes ami(e)s, ils ont adoptés mon “mari” et inversement j’ai été adopté par ses ami(e)s.
Avec mes voisin(e)s et entourages et nos compagnons de voyages lointains, aucune discriminations ; nous avons de très bonnes relations et qui durent.

A Note From Szhakti, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia…

“Love

Some people says love was made in heaven, but optimists says love is how we build up our relationships with another person. It’s that moment, that second and that time where u decide this is what you haven’t the most.
But love isn’t easy, it hasn’t being easy.

Today love is more like a need than a commitment, its more to a way of life than living for each other. It’s like you have a steady sex buddy more than too wake up beside the person you love the next day.

I did try to love after Arun passed on to the other world, I did try to love again. Learn to love more preciously, but it is not an easy step as the people I cross through only look at the outer look and not the inner person who eager to fell love again, to feel the warm beat of the heart.

My friends say I never moved on at all and still clinging on my passed. It’s easy to say so but I did move on. It’s just that when I did the people whom I meet on my path only seek for the pleasure of the skin, some even made me a show doll and some even made me think I do still can fall in love but they all proved one thing ‘ Love isn’t easy at all’.

Love is all about understanding, to care and to be care, to share the feelings. To be passion about each other and to feel the Lub-Dub of your heart muscles when the special person beside you.
True love is hard to find.

It can’t be found it is just there when its meant to be it is. Like what oldies will say, ‘Love is made in heaven’, I guess just have to wait patiently for mine even though it has being 12 years im still looking for the lost treasure called ‘Love’.”