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Thiago, Event Producer, Rio De Janiero

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

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong


photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Thiago, in his own Portuguese words:“Ser gay para mim significa saber quem sou e o que quero. Significa assumir os meus sentimentos e não reprimi-los por causa dos outros. Ser feliz como eu sou dando importância a mim. É entender que o amor indefere do sexo, mas que sexo é um fato para se ter uma vida mais prazerosa, saudável e prolongada.

Meus maiores desafios foram quando eu ainda estava na infância e já sabia dos meus sentimentos, pois via uma sociedade opressora com relação a sexualidade. Sabia das minhas dificuldades perante a sociedade e minha família. Pra mim isso foi um desafio. Como me comportar perante a eles? Conforme o tempo foi passando, fui tendo mais conhecimento do mundo através de livros e da história da humanidade, fui compreendendo que o meu genuíno sentimento não era anormal. Que a concepção de certo não é única e verdadeira, que a imposição sempre foi impostas através da culpa pelo santificado e de quem obtinha o controlhe (rei, clero, ditadores, etc), pois eles não entendiam tais sentimentos, sempre alegando que o carnal é algo profano, impuro, errado, demoníaco. Vi que também não sou o único, que como eu existia, existiam milhares de outras pessoas. Com isso, ganhei uma autoconfiança sobre os meus sentimentos, que mesmo que não fosse como os outros esperavam como eu deveria ser, eu não era do mal e meus sentimentos de amor não poderia ser errados. Dessa forma, eu percebi que nem todo mundo está certo. Que para alguém ter certeza sobre o que esta dizendo, a pessoa tem que estar muito bem argumentada. Convencer-me que seu ponto de vista é o correto. Meu maior sucesso foi ter essa afirmação de quê, cada um sabe o que é o certo para a sua felicidade, por tanto quê, para atingir a sua felicidade, você não faça o mal ao próximo.

Acredito que a comunidade gay do Rio de Janeiro, por ser uma cidade que tem muitos estrangeiros (turistas ou moradores) não seja diferente das outras grandes cidades do mundo. Somos uma cidade litorânea de clima tropical. Isso acaba nos influenciando certos hábitos. O Carioca em si pode até não ir à praia, mas não vive sem ela. A praia causa uma certa pressão no culto ao corpo, dos corpos liso e depilados. Isso faz com que a comunidade bear no rio não seja muito grande, porém ela existe e se faz presente. A praia de Ipanema, por exemplo, é um point gay em frente à Rua Farme de Amoedo. Lá é uma excelente local aonde você pode ver exatamente como a comunidade gay carioca é.

Nos meus 30 anos de idade, eu vejo mudanças de comportamento nos mais jovens. Por se assumem mais cedo, achava que essa juventude seria mais liberal. Ao mesmo tempo em que eles se assumem mais cedo, sinto que eles são mais caretas com algumas questões. Eles não são tão sexuais como os mais velhos, parece que estão conectados de outra forma. Assim como eu também vejo a mudança dos mais velhos, que estão assumindo mais seus pelos, cultivando mais seus corpos pela questão da saúde do que pela questão estética. De uma forma geral, as pessoas mudam com o passar dos tempos e os padrões vão mudando consequentemente.

Como foi sair do armário?

Difícil no primeiro momento. Sabia o que era. Já namorava um garoto 4 anos mais velho do que eu (eu tinha 17 anos e ele tinha 21 anos) e quis me assumir, pois tive medo que minha mãe pudesse encrencar com ele. Decidi me abrir com a minha mãe. Ela reagiu da forma mais preconceituosa, mas verbalmente. Surpreendentemente, meu irmão, a qual eu temia a pior reação, me ligou justamente após ter contato a minha mãe e minha mãe acabou contou a ele pelo telefone. Ele em seguida quis falar comigo. Para a minha maior supressa, ao pegar o telefone, ele começou a gritar “ é isso ai! Você é muito homem pra se assumir, isso não é para qualquer um não, parabéns, você é o cara!!” . Para a minha total felicidade aonde acabei me debulhando em lágrimas de felicidade.

Se você pudesse dar um conselho para você mesmo antes de sair do armário, o que você diria?

Vai em frente! Você está certo de seu sentimento e sentiu que era a hora de falar. Vai em frente! Se assumir é se definir como um homem, assumir os seus defeitos e também suas qualidades, encara-los de frente. Vai, pois você será feliz!’

In English:

“Being gay means to me to know who I am and what I want. Means taking my feelings and not suppress them because of the other. Be happy as I am giving importance to me. You understand that rejecting love sex, but sex is a fact to have a more joyful, healthy and long life.

My biggest challenge was when I was still a child and knew of my feelings , because I saw an oppressive society regarding sexuality . Knew of my difficulties to society and my family . For me it was a challenge . How to behave towards them? As time went on, I was having more knowledge of the world through books and the history of mankind , I was realizing that my genuine feeling is not abnormal . They design right is not only true that the levy has always been imposed through guilt by sanctified and who obtained the controlhe ( king, clergy , dictators , etc. ) because they did not understand such feelings , always claiming that the carnal is something profane, crude , wrong , demonic . I saw also that I am not alone , that I existed as there were thousands of other people . With that , I gained self-confidence about my feelings , even if it was not like the others waited as I should be, I was not evil and my feelings of love could not be wrong . Thus , I realized that not everyone is right. That for someone to be sure about what you’re saying , the person has to be very well argued . Convince me that their view is correct. My biggest success was having this statement of what each knows what is right for your happiness , therefore , to achieve your happiness , you do not do evil to others.

I think the gay community of Rio de Janeiro , being a city with many foreigners ( tourists and locals) is no different from other major world cities . We are a seaside town with a tropical climate . This eventually influenced in certain ways. The Carioca itself might not even go to the beach , but can not live without it. The beach causes some pressure on the cult of the body , the hair and smooth bodies . This makes the bear community in Rio de Janeiro is not very large , but it exists and is present . Ipanema beach , for example , is a gay point opposite the Rua Farme de Amoedo . There is a great spot where you can see exactly how the gay community is Rio .

In my 30 years, I see behavior changes in young people. Why are assumed earlier, thought that youth would be more liberal. While they are assumed earlier , I feel that they are old fashion. They are not as sexual as older , they seem to be connected otherwise . As I also see the changing older who are taking over their hair , their bodies by cultivating more health issue than for aesthetic reasons . In general , people change with the passage of time and the patterns are changing accordingly.

(Coming out was) Difficult at first. Knew what it was. Already dating a boy four years older than me (I was 17 and he was 21) and wanted to take me because I was afraid that my mother could get in trouble with it. I decided to open with my mother. She reacted the most prejudiced, but verbally. Surprisingly, my brother, which I feared the worst reaction, called me just after contact my mom and my mom just told him by telephone. He then wanted to talk to me. To my greatest suppressed, to pick up the phone, he started yelling “this is it! You are very man to assume, it is not for anyone not, congratulations, you’re the man!. “To my utter bliss where just thrashing me in tears of happiness.

(If I could give myself advice before coming out, I’d say) Go ahead! Are you sure your feeling and felt it was time to talk. Go ahead! If you assume it is set as a man, take your defects and also their qualities, face them head on. Will, because you will be happy!”

Jake, Australian Blogger, 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

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Jake, in his own words: “Coming out to me was about showing that nothing changes after you take that step. I was very calculated with my coming out to my friends and family. I stretched it out over the course of three years, from 18 to 21. The last person to complete my progression was my Father.

You see, I knew my parents would never really stop loving or be upset with me, and my friends wouldn’t be my friends if I knew they wouldn’t support me. In fact I was lucky. My Mother’s response went something along the lines of “I have four boys, one of them had to be”, and we continued the night laughing and crying. My Father was much more difficult to tell because I am the apple of his eye. It’s always much harder to tell those you’re the closest to and I didn’t want to disappoint or tarnish his rose colored view of me. He cried. He cried until I spoke up saying that I am sorry. He looked at me and said, “I’m just upset it took you so long to tell me. I just know your life from here onwards is going to be more difficult than it needs to be. People should be able to be who they want to be and not be ashamed of it”. For me, telling my Father was the final tier. I was finally free.

Being gay has never really meant all that much to me. I’ve never wanted it to be my identifier, nor have I wanted “being gay” to consume who I am. Being gay to me means one thing and one thing only – I’m attracted to the same sex. Everything else is just who I am, not because I’m gay. I like to think of myself as a regular guy. I’m just chasing my dreams.”


Click here to check out Jake’s personal blog, “The Secret Diary of Jake”.

Mic, Banking, Paris

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

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.