Tag Archives: coming out

Leonard, Visual Merchandiser/Designer/Creative, San Francisco

photo by Kevin Truong

Leonard, in his own words: For me, to be gay might mean something a little different than most. I was born and raised in the Bahamas, which is uber conservative, and being gay is not generally acceptable…though I always knew I was. This of course was very difficult, but in many ways I am grateful for my upbringing and became a much stronger individual because of it. I learned that I do not have to do what everyone else is doing, nor am I supposed to.

After growing up in Nassau, moving to San Francisco fascinated me because I always thought how amazing it would be to see the rainbow of gays whom I imagined to be here. Of course, some actual “individual” gays do exist, but it seems like most gays have assimilated to a stereotypical “gay mold” in an effort to be accepted as some type of normal. That may be fine for those who want to be accepted by everyone, but I would rather be accepted on my own terms than anyone else’s. Lucky for me, all my dearest friends (I think) feel the same way!

Brandon, Singer/Songwriter, Portland, Ore.

photo by Kevin Truong

Brandon, in his own words:“In terms of what it’s like for me to be gay, I’ll put it as simple as this: “I like Fruity Pebbles cereal because I like the taste, not because I’m a fruit”

I’ve always known I was gay since I was a young boy watching Kevin Bacon in Footloose. Yum. I can’t honestly say I was ever confused about my identity or who I was as a person. The problem for me was that I always knew exactly who I was and was aware that it wasn’t safe during my high school years in a small Midwest town (Quincy, Illinois) to be open and honest about it. The only gay people that were out in high school were the stereotypical gay guys who did the musicals and were the acting teachers pet. As much as I respected those boys bravery for being out and proud when the rest of us weren’t, I never identified with those stereotypes and have done my best throughout my life to avoid the comparisons.

Sure, I like a good pop song, I even dig glitter on the right night, but to sum up all gay people into one category that revolves around musicals, Bette Midler and makeup is unfair, inaccurate and a stereotype I will never be comfortable submitting to. I drink Whiskey, I wear the same thing twice in a row some days and have a deep love and appreciation for Pink Floyd thanks to my Grandpa Butch. Being a gay male is many things, mostly it just means you are attracted to men and that’s that. The End.