Tag Archives: lgbtq

Martin Naef, Member of Parliament, Zurich, Switzerland

photo by Kevin Truong

Martin, in his own words: “(Being gay) is my life, I can’t imagine not being gay actually. That’s what I am.

(The LGBTQ community in Switzerland) is a very old one, it’s a traditional one, it’s a tiny one. Switzerland, being in the heart of Europe, has lots of tourist coming here. Zurich, especially, and Geneva are very liberal cities, it’s nice for gay people here.

(There are still) political challenges, we want total equality. We don’t have it, we almost have it, but that is the biggest challenge, but in the normal daily life it is quite good.

When I think of the last twenty or thirty years there has been a lot of changes (in Switzerland). (LGBTQ) people used to be in a sort of ghetto, which was the community, now it is mixing up. Society has changed a lot. It is quite a liberal society, nobody has a problem even when you are at work and tell them you’re gay or bring along your boyfriend. That’s changed a lot. I think that wouldn’t have been possible twenty years ago. And so in Switzerland we had a public poll about gay rights and gay marriage and more than 64% saying yes to this, which is amazing.

20 years ago when I came out and started working as a politician it was quite sensational. But now even the mayor of Zurich is an open lesbian and it’s nothing special anymore. Even from the conservative parties, there are now some openly gay people in the Parliament, some colleagues of mine, this wouldn’t have been possible just ten years ago.

I still think that it is important to talk to people, not just going to the internet. I’m working for several gay organizations and we have lots of phone calls and personal discussions, that’s what people really need now, when they’re 16 or 17 years old and coming out, to have contact and speak with people, not just to chat on the internet.”

Richardo, Web Administrator/Graphic Designer, Jakarta, Indonesia

photo by Kevin Truong

Richardo, in his own words: “Being gay for me is like a nature call. It comes from the deepest part of your soul. Some people can live with it, but some can not. Just like any other superheroes that have a special ability, they can show it, but they also can hide it. We can’t say that being gay is a choice, but to declare that “I’m gay” is a choice, and that’s not easy. No matter if you are gay, bi, or hetero, you’ll always be like that. No one can change and judge you. Some people can happily live with it, but some can not. It depends on how they see theirself and how people around them can accept it.

The greatest challenge in my life is to discover who you are, and trying to beat all the levels in your life. You know, sometimes it’s hard for us to get out from our comfort zone. Being who we are when many people are trying to see us as a treat, unusual, or worse- a freak. But that’s a life. People can talk bad about us, they don’t know who we are, just let them speak and do what you love.

Until now I still haven’t come out to my parents. But I think they already know about who I am. But well, my mom always supports me, she’s liberal enough, not like my dad. But I’m trying the best I can do to make them happy. I will show them that I can be someone someday and they will be proud of me no matter the sexual orientation that I have.

As always, be who you are. Love each other. When the world hates you, do not hate ’em back. Spending so much time throwing negative energy is useless, use it to build a better you. :)”

Tomáš, Process Analyst, Bratislava, Slovakia

photo by Kevin Truong

Tomáš, in his own words: “(Being gay) is a part of who I am. I tend to consider it as a fact, the same as I have blue eyes or brown hair.

One of my greatest challenges (and success as well) was the struggle to accept myself being gay. It took a few years of my life to understand it, accept it and finally even like it. I’ve made some great mistakes when I was living with my ex in Prague, so another great struggle is to correct them and atone for them. I am also thinking of starting my own business, but struggle with the fear of uncertainty. And last but not least is finding a husband who would accept me as I am, help me to overcome my faults or bad habits, but won’t let me down just because of them.

Actually, there are several (coming out) stories depending to whom I’ve came out:

Considering my friends, they were the first. I had fallen in love with a schoolmate – he was a professional bicyclist, and very handsome and muscular, so I one day I told him of my feelings. Of course it wasn’t mutual, he was heterosexual, but thanked me for the bravery and we became good friends.

Considering my closest friends, I prepared a riddle for them, which I silently hoped they would never decipher. Actually, as Google started to be very popular at the time, it took them only about 20 minutes.

Considering my mother, it was one day after school. I had been chatting by SMS with some guy I recently discovered on the website. I came to a toilet and let my phone unguarded in my room. When I returned, I found my mum was reading my SMS messages and asked directly if I’m gay. So I responded with the truth. It took her about two weeks to accept it and start speaking to me again. However, she has never stalked another person’s phone since then.

To my father, I came out during one of my fights. I actually used the information to hurt him, but he told me he already knew it and we moved on to fight about another topics.

The gay community in Bratislava is complicated, and quite promiscuise. I guess it has something to do with fact that the Slovakia is a quite Catholic and nationalistic country with many prejudices towards people who are different in any kind of the meaning to this word. You won’t see guys holding each other hands or kissing in the streets; quite common is that guys do sleep with other guys on Saturday night and on Sunday morning they go with their parents to the church.

(Advice I would give to my younger self) would be kind of “you are who you are, so stop hating yourself.”