photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
Son, in his own words “Son T. Vo, a gay refugee from Nha Trang, Vietnam. An artist featured in Allure magazine for transforming faces.”
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
Stephen, in his own words: ” Being Gay to me has always felt like I have the best qualities of understanding men and women and being empathetic toward everyone.
Coming out was exceedingly easy though the phrase “coming out” did not exist when I did it…I was a kid actor doing summer stock, and realized that I was more like a lot of the men I was meeting rather than like my Pop and his pals…I had an easy time of assimilating it as all the older actors were exceedingly supportive; I never felt compelled to hide who I was, but just existed in my comfy world.
My challenges have been to make a living, to continue in happiness, when so many friends in my generation died when AIDS arrived, and to try to be a positive presence on the planet…. I miss so many people no longer on Earth, yet do honor them daily in how I choose to exist here. I adore kids and have helped raise 9 god children over the years, and have always shared life with animals who are constant blessings.”
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
Gino, in his own words: Being gay means to have the understanding that love and lust have no boundaries when it comes to a gender.
I feel very fortunate to not have faced many challenges being gay. The only challenges I’ve faced are my own internal battles of what people would think of me if they knew I was gay (family, friends, coworkers, social circles).
The gay community here in San Francisco, I feel, is strongly rooted as the mecca; this is where we know much of our history happened; this is where we know we can live and not be judged. Being able to see the broad spectrum of gay archetypes coexist with the diverse culture of people built into San Francisco’s DNA, with respect and acceptance, is something I haven’t seen or felt in any other location, and it makes me proud to know I live here.
(I came out) Thanksgiving of 2003, and I was finally living on my own in my small studio apartment, post university. My mom and younger brother had driven across statelines to spend my first Thanksgiving with me as a “grown up.” My little bro went to meet up with some friends that were also in town and it was just my mom and I watching TV, letting the tryptophan from the turkey push us into the traditional after T-Giving meal nap. Thing was, I started crying because I was planning to tell her that I am gay. I couldn’t spit it out because I was too scared to shatter her heart and vision of what I thought she wanted me to be. 30 minutes passed of me sobbing and my mom started to worry because she didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me. Finally I mustered up the courage and blurted it out. She hugged me immediately and said, “Even if you were an axe murderer in jail, I’d still love you.” (Thanks mom…cause being gay is equivalent to being an axe murderer). Her comment made me laugh so hard, and I finally felt the huge burden lifted off my shoulders, and for the first time, felt free. She let me know she had her suspicions when I was a child, but knew I’d tell her when I was comfortable and ready. Gotta love her.”