it made my father uncomfortable, and he tried to hurry the photo being taken. But looking at this picture today, I have to say I love it!
kevin, age 4
Iâm originally from a small town in Nebraska. At the time this photo was taken, I was joyful, giddy, fearless, and ready to perform. I mean, who wouldnât want to dance around on stage and receive all that attention? I remember being especially excited to see the older girls with their fire batons. But my baton lessons lasted only one summer. After that I started to get the message that boys donât twirl the baton or play with Barbie dolls. It wasnât until I was twenty that I embraced my sexual identity. It took me a long time to get comfortable with this photo, but now I look at it with great affection.
michael, age 9
I was that rarity, an only child born to an Italian American family in Brooklyn. Practically from birth, I retreated into a wall of shyness. I knew I was differentâmore sensitive, letâs sayâthan most of the kids in the neighborhood, but I wasnât sure just what that meant.
In 1964, my cousin introduced me to the music of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the glittery, arm-gesturing Motown girl group, and that was transformative. It also gave me something to bond with another male over. But that wasnât sexual. That came later, in 1966, when a loin-clothed hottie named Ron Ely hit the small screen as Tarzan. Thatâs when I knew I was gay, because I couldnât wait to watch the show every week. And when Diana Ross and the Supremes were guest stars on it, I was in gay heaven!
Despite these coded diversions, I never knew if there was a future for me as a gay man. There were no out role models and precious little positive information at the time. In fact, homosexuality was considered a disorder! But I hung in there and eventually moved across the bridge to Manhattan, where I found a thriving, creative community that I still belong to. Today, Iâm the gayest person on Earth. And I still know every last one of those Supremesâ arm gestures.
keith, age 2
Believe it or not, I remember the moment captured in my photo. It was when I saw
him
, a dreamy teenage friend of our family. I didnât feel gay or different at this moment, just in love. And Iâm so glad Iâm dressed quite handsomely in my tie, plaid vest, and penny loafers. I suppose it was around age five that I sensed I was different, as I heard my parents arguing about the clothes and toys my mother was buying me. Not to mention my constant desire to fly like Mary Poppins or the Flying Nun, which drove my father nuts. The ability to fly away, if even just in my imagination, helped me get through it all.
jeffrey, age 3
I was a smart, eccentric kid who was prone to dramatic moments. The best thing my parents did for me was getting me involved in a local community theater program to channel my creative energy. Growing up, I couldnât understand why I didnât like football, dating, or other things Texan . It was not until I went off to college that my first âgirlfriendâ suspected what was going on, labeled me as gay, and got me on the path to self-discovery.
marc, age 8
The earliest memory I have of understanding that I liked boys was staring at the
Meet The Beatles!
album cover with my sister and knowing I too thought Paul McCartney was the cute one. My first boy crushes happened at summer camp, over some of the older boys or a camp counselor or two. Then a few neighborhood friends and some cute jocks at school and fellow actors in the community theater and â¦Â oh, well, I guess I had a lot of crushes.
My only distinct memory of being bullied is when a male friend of my sisterâs wrote FAG on a piece of sheet music in my room. I remember my father taped a similarly colored piece of paper on top to cover up the hateful word. And I remember I felt worse for my father than I did for myself.
I was always out to
kevin, age 4
Iâm originally from a small town in Nebraska. At the time this photo was taken, I was joyful, giddy, fearless, and ready to perform. I mean, who wouldnât want to dance around on stage and receive all that attention? I remember being especially excited to see the older girls with their fire batons. But my baton lessons lasted only one summer. After that I started to get the message that boys donât twirl the baton or play with Barbie dolls. It wasnât until I was twenty that I embraced my sexual identity. It took me a long time to get comfortable with this photo, but now I look at it with great affection.
michael, age 9
I was that rarity, an only child born to an Italian American family in Brooklyn. Practically from birth, I retreated into a wall of shyness. I knew I was differentâmore sensitive, letâs sayâthan most of the kids in the neighborhood, but I wasnât sure just what that meant.
In 1964, my cousin introduced me to the music of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the glittery, arm-gesturing Motown girl group, and that was transformative. It also gave me something to bond with another male over. But that wasnât sexual. That came later, in 1966, when a loin-clothed hottie named Ron Ely hit the small screen as Tarzan. Thatâs when I knew I was gay, because I couldnât wait to watch the show every week. And when Diana Ross and the Supremes were guest stars on it, I was in gay heaven!
Despite these coded diversions, I never knew if there was a future for me as a gay man. There were no out role models and precious little positive information at the time. In fact, homosexuality was considered a disorder! But I hung in there and eventually moved across the bridge to Manhattan, where I found a thriving, creative community that I still belong to. Today, Iâm the gayest person on Earth. And I still know every last one of those Supremesâ arm gestures.
keith, age 2
Believe it or not, I remember the moment captured in my photo. It was when I saw
him
, a dreamy teenage friend of our family. I didnât feel gay or different at this moment, just in love. And Iâm so glad Iâm dressed quite handsomely in my tie, plaid vest, and penny loafers. I suppose it was around age five that I sensed I was different, as I heard my parents arguing about the clothes and toys my mother was buying me. Not to mention my constant desire to fly like Mary Poppins or the Flying Nun, which drove my father nuts. The ability to fly away, if even just in my imagination, helped me get through it all.
jeffrey, age 3
I was a smart, eccentric kid who was prone to dramatic moments. The best thing my parents did for me was getting me involved in a local community theater program to channel my creative energy. Growing up, I couldnât understand why I didnât like football, dating, or other things Texan . It was not until I went off to college that my first âgirlfriendâ suspected what was going on, labeled me as gay, and got me on the path to self-discovery.
marc, age 8
The earliest memory I have of understanding that I liked boys was staring at the
Meet The Beatles!
album cover with my sister and knowing I too thought Paul McCartney was the cute one. My first boy crushes happened at summer camp, over some of the older boys or a camp counselor or two. Then a few neighborhood friends and some cute jocks at school and fellow actors in the community theater and â¦Â oh, well, I guess I had a lot of crushes.
My only distinct memory of being bullied is when a male friend of my sisterâs wrote FAG on a piece of sheet music in my room. I remember my father taped a similarly colored piece of paper on top to cover up the hateful word. And I remember I felt worse for my father than I did for myself.
I was always out to
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