Tag Archives: kevin truong

Avraam, Social Worker, Athens, Greece

photo by Kevin Truong

Avraam, in his own words: “Being -openly- gay in Greece is not that easy because of the fear of being bullied or attacked by homophobes. But this is not an option, but a big challenge that makes me feel special. I really enjoy being gay, I have the need to express what I feel without guilt, I love kissing and holding hands in public with my boyfriends and I think homosexuality is the greatest gift nature could ever give me.

I always wanted to be myself without caring about what people think and I made it happen. I achieved becoming an activist fighting against all types of discrimination and standing up for human rights. I give my big smile to everyone, I don’t hide behind my finger, I show people my real feelings and always tell the truth although our society is absolutely addicted to lies.

My whole life is a short coming out story. If you come out of the closet once, you will love this taste of freedom and you will never ever want to go back inside it again. This is the quote I want all of us to memorize and believe in. I’m openly gay not just for me, but for all those who are afraid of expressing themselves and because I can’t imagine myself without fighting for equality. People can be judgmental, but I have nothing to feel ashamed of. The closet has been burnt.

After the Greek Parliament voted for civil partnership equality into law in December 2015, I feel like many things are getting better for us. The gay community in Athens is like a big vibrant village trying to be more visible, have a stronger voice and attract more allies. There is a large number of LGBTQ+ associations that is growing all the time and a developing gay village in an area called Gazi. But to be honest, there is something that has always bothered me: many gay men prove that they experience internalized homophobia and others tend to be really exclusive in their everyday lives. While browsing profiles on dating apps, it’s not that difficult to notice that the majority of gay men hide their faces, they can be rude and aggressive when you are not into them and outspoken about not liking ‘fats’, ‘thins’, ‘fems’, ‘older’ etc.

(Advice I’d give to my younger self) Kid, be more productive, be careful who you trust, f*ck them all, love yourself and celebrate your gay pride!”

Syd, Advertising, Manila, Philippines

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by KEvin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Syd, in his own words: “In my opinion it’s not that hard to be gay here (Manila) I think people are more accepting now. I work in advertising so people don’t care really if you’re gay or not. To date here is easy, I think, with Grindr and Tinder and Facebook. People just add each other on Facebook and start talking. But in a way that makes it more difficult because I think in the back of people’s minds they have too many options so it’s hard to choose. I think that’s a problem now. Technology and social networking, there’s so many options so people can’t settle with one.”

A Note from Sergi, Student, Barcelona, Spain…

Sergi, in his own words: “I am a student living in Barcelona (Catalonia). And I would like to first introduce myself a little. I was born in Ukraine in 1997, but came to Spain three years later, to be adopted by my actual parents. I have no contact with my biological parents, because I don’t know them. My childhood could say was happy, maybe not so much on the inside, which worsened at the age of 12, when I was discovering who I was. I finally accepted myself though, it took me a few years. I came out of the closet at the age of 13, but I came out of the closet before I actually knew that I liked boys. Hahah I did the reverse. All went well until my mother began to see when I got older that I related to other guys, but now we don’t have any problems. My sexuality was never a problem at school that others would get involved with me, on the contrary to some people I was someone to follow, because they saw that I was still myself even though people insulted me.

Now that I have presented myself, I would say that Barcelona is a city where being homosexual is not a problem. It is a city where I feel very free with my sexuality and where most people accept it, that’s because Barcelona is a very touristy town.

Love. Love. I never felt in love, well, I felt love but it wasn’t reciprocated. As they say in Moulin Rouge “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” I still have not learned. It is a very sensitive and important issue for me, to love and be loved. That must have origins in childhood, I spent the first three years of my life without feeling that somebody loved me, because I was in an orphanage. All my life, from the 15, I began to obsess on finding love and now, after four years, I have not found it. They always tell me that love does not seek, it is. I am a very impatient person and also think love is the solution to everything. I look like a romance writer, but I want to find happiness. I think that love is the solution to everything that is a problem, but every time I see clearer. I have to say that I have had opportunities to fall in love, to have a couple, but I became afraid. Strange not? I want to love and when I see that I can have it I will. I think I want to find love but I’m not ready. When I was younger, I thought falling in love with someone or having someone fall in love with you was a quick thing. But it is not so, and I have learned that later. I have a sad memory, from the past. I met someone who later would break my fantasies of love and make me believe that I was just a sexual object, but now I’m a new kind of guy. I am a person and I deserve respect.

Finally I would say that being gay to me does not change my nature, I have always believed that my sexual orientation is not what defines me. An example: “Hi, I’m gay and my name is Sergi” this phrase is not something I want, I prefer, “Hello, my name is Sergi and I am a person.Finally, I would like to tell you something else about me. In the future I would like to be a filmmaker. Also related to the cinema, next year, I will enter film school and I hope to find myself while I do what I really love.”