Category Archives: New York City

Johnny, Artist/Philosopher/Proto Assistant, New York City

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

Johnny, in his own words: “Looking back I find that I had more difficulty coming to terms with my humanity then my sexuality. My sexuality was relatively meaningless in the larger picture. For me, figuring out my place in the world, in the universe and existence as a whole took precedence over my attraction to another person. Naturally there was attraction, but it was not something I understood completely or tried to understand at an early age. my feelings were my feelings and they hadnt been influenced by anything other then my innermost self and though I was perhaps too young to comprehend that, I did on some spiritual level, as I suspect all living things do. It was intuitive and I didnt give it much thought. I knew I was different then my peers though, different than other boys, mainly from what I was perceiving from the world, from others. In fact it was more external pressure to address my orientation then an internal need or desire.

I’ve always been somewhat of a private person by nature, blame it on my Cancerian roots. I never felt the need to broadcast my sexual feelings, after all are my sexual encounters/fantasies anyone elses concern other then my own? I wasnt hiding, but I never heard ‘straight’ folk letting everyone know their sexual preferences or ever having the need to, but it seemed that being gay was something that others had to know about, was something period, like some kind of warning. I never thought I was a danger to anything. I approached my budding sexuality with caution because there was something powerful and even divine about it. It was like some powerful magic that had to be handled with care and so it was only once I was ready to.

There are times when life has seemed scary and too much to bear, but unto myself, I realized that my experience in the world was rarified . And I’ve always been attracted to the rare and exotic things in life. If nothing else, ‘liking guys’ has made for a richer experience of my life, I can appreciate, openly, a greater number of beautiful things for instance, and that’s just one, of an infinite number of attributes that make me unique. But thats the case with every other living thing in the universe. And in that I realized that we, as in all of us, as in everything… are one in the same.”

Alden, Creative Vagabond, New York City

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

Alden, in his own words: “My experience as a gay man has been such an evolution that I’m not sure I can define it in any way that would leave me satisfied. At times it hasn’t played a role in my life (to my knowledge) and like many I tried to suppress it’s role for quite a while. I began coming out when I was asked by a new friend just after I had graduated college and moved to Boston if I was straight or gay, and I decided to be honest. It took quite a while to fully come out. The most important people I came out to were my parents and I did this in a thank you note on my birthday just last year (in 2011). I thanked them for giving me the opportunities they have, and the privileges, and dropped the ‘I’m gay’ at the end hoping it would be as casual as ‘best regards’.

At that point I had mentally come so far that it was casual, it had become just another facet . . . not a defining aspect. I think it’s somewhere in the middle of these(a defining facet perhaps?). Most of the challenges I’ve experienced have been with myself I’d say. I stood in my own way for a long time before coming out, and dragged my feet a bit in finally doing so. Now that I am out and living New York my experience has been interesting. It’s easy to find yourself falling at different points on the litmus test of ‘straight’ to ‘gay’ scenes depending on what kind of evening you’re looking for, and my experience has led me to nights out with friends in gay bars, and straight alike. I’m only on my 6th month here, so I’m looking positively toward my future more easily than reflecting on my recent past.”

Dennis and Dan, Floral Arranger and Retired Cop, New York City

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

Dan, in his own words: “(Being gay) Doesn’t rule my life as I consider myself and Dennis to be just like other guys with the difference being sexual desire. I have not as of yet faced blatant discrimination as a gay man, however, I am aware of comments made by people who do not know that I am a gay man. When I ask for benefits or apply for anything involving administration changes for my spouse, I am always asked “what is your wife’s name?” Seems that America is still not used to same sex marriage.

I never had an official coming out event but just started being more honest with people who wanted to know. Certainly surviving Sept 11th, 2001 made my decision to be more open a fact.

New York is not truly representative of what gay men are really like. There seems to be a lot of the bad traits here in New York City with alcohol, drug, substance abuse and lack of self esteem taking a front seat. So many young men gravitate to NYC to escape their inability to be who they want in their original locales. Being gay is not all about vanity, clubs, living in gay neighborhoods, only hanging out with gay men and only frequenting gay establishments. It seems that our desire to be only amongst our own kind leads to a line between us and the heterosexual community.”