Category Archives: Uncategorized

Julien, Engineer, Paris, France

photo by Kevin Truong

Julien, in his own French words: “A mes yeux, être gay signifie plus qu’une simple orientation sexuelle. C’est un choix qui s’impose à nous, et conditionne un style de vie, un mode de réflexion, par rapport aux autres et à soi même. Il faut garder en tête aussi malgré tout que cela ne devance en aucun cas notre personnalité, nos goûts etc. Pour moi être gay c’est quelque chose qui me caractérise mais qui ne me définit donc pas.

Chaque jour je suis confronté au fait d’être gay, dans mon école, dois je le dire? Les élèves et les associations étant très friendly, ce n’est pas un problème, mes amis le comprenant tout a fait aussi. C’est d’ailleurs un critère important pour voir rapidement si un ami en est réellement un. Au sein de mon travail en tant que maître d’internat c’est plus délicat. Il est question d’autorité et de respect je suis donc plus discret. Cela ne concerne que moi après tout. Mais je ne m’en cache pas.

A Paris la communauté gay se caractérise par le quartier du marais dans le 4ème arrondissement, près de notre dame et de l’hôtel de ville. Très festif et multi-culturel, c’est un quartier où il fait bon vivre. De nombreux établissements friendly sont disséminés un peu autour. On y croise souvent des gens atypiques, et parfois quelques VIP.

Enfin l’histoire de mon coming ouf n’est pas aussi joyeuse que d’autres garçons de ce blog. Mes parents l’ont difficilement accepté même si l’idée fait petit a petit son chemin, et je considère que j’ai fait le maximum auprès d’eux. D’autres membres de ma famille sont au courant et l’acceptent très bien, ce qui me rend heureux. Mes amis, quant a eux l’ont tous plutôt bien pris, et cela a suscité de nombreuses questions auxquelles je réponds avec plaisir, et aujourd’hui je suis fier de tout le chemin que j’ai parcouru, au vu de la difficulté que cela présentait au départ.

Johnny, Artist, New York City

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.”

Eduardo, Social Media/Educational Projects, Lima, Peru

photo by Kevin Truong

Eduardo, in his own words: “Ser gay para mí significa entender que todos somos diferentes y que el mundo no es como te lo pintan las convenciones sociales. Es muchísimo más. Es algo que sabemos todos los gays desde que somos niños. Y es una gran lección.

Uno de mis principales obstáculos ha sido enfrentarme a una sociedad tan represiva como la peruana. Pero es lo que me toca y le doy la pelea todos los días siendo yo mismo.

Sigue siendo muy difícil ser LGBTIQ en el Perú pero hay progresos. Creo que la coyuntura de la Unión Civil contribuyó con la visibilidad de nuestro colectivo y además colaboró con la apertura gradual de la sociedad civil en general. Hay grandes desafíos hacia adelante pero las transformaciones sociales toman su tiempo.

Les dije a mis papás que era gay apenas terminé el colegio pero al igual que yo, siempre supieron. Ellos están bien. Solo quieren que sea feliz. Es la misma apuesta que tengo yo en la vida: ser feliz.

¿Qué consejo me daría a mí mismo? Pasa más tiempo con tu familia. La voy a cagar muchas veces y está bien que sea así, pero tengo que aprender de cada error. Se que suena difícil y que el mundo parece un gran problema cuando eres más joven pero me diría que todo va a mejorar. El mundo se ve mejor a los 33. Disfruta de tu vida sin responsabilidades, mientras puedas. Sé una buena persona. Relájate. Dile a ese chico que te gusta. Se feliz.”

In English:

“Being gay to me means understanding that everyone is different and that the world is not only as you paint it in social conventions. It is much more. Being gay is something that we all know since we were children. And it’s a great lesson.

One of my biggest obstacles has been to confront such a repressive society like Peru. But it is what touches me and I have to fight every day just to be myself.

It remains very difficult to be LGBTIQ in Peru but there is progress. I think the situation of the Civil Union contributed to the visibility of our collective and also assisted with the gradual opening of the civil society in general. There are great challenges ahead but social changes take time.

I told my parents I was gay just as I finished school, but I always knew. They are fine. They just want me to be happy. It’s the same desire that I have in life: to be happy.

What advice would I give my younger myself? Spend more time with your family. I’m going to mess up often and rightly so, but I have to learn from every mistake. I know it sounds difficult and the world seems like a big problem when you’re younger, but I would say that everything will improve. The world looks better at 33. Enjoy your life without responsibilities, while you can. Be a good person. Relax. Tell that guy that you like. Be happy.”

THE GAY MEN PROJECT

The visual catalog of gay and queer men around the world.

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Julien, Engineer, Paris, France

Johnny, Artist, New York City

Eduardo, Social Media/Educational Projects, Lima, Peru