photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
photo by Kevin Truong
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.