"The Truth About Who We Are..."

David, Portland, Oregon

by thegaymenproject

photo by Kevin Truong

David, in his own words: "Being gay to me is being awesome. That awesomeness that comes from the freedom from hetero-normative expectations of marriage, children, and a job that can stabilize all of that. It gives me the space to live an examined and selectively curated life in a chaotic world. An examined life in a time when more than ever our lives need to be reexamined. It's awesome, and I'm not even talking about the sex.

Well my challenges really, came early on. I've been out for almost a decade now, but back in the day I was at the epicenter of this really juicy mean girls style drama at my high school. It was bigger than me, a crazy story, and I didn't take it personally... I transferred schools, my first boyfriend was sent to a conversion therapy camp, and I overcame a lot of adversity as an adolescent gay kid in Colorado. Telling that story is still something I have to figure out. However since then I have this impenetrable shamelessness, that is a triumph, and has allowed me to give my dreams a real chance, and the courage to materialize them.

Oh... Well I feel like Portland is a post gay city in a lot of ways. There isn't much of a gay scene, or community, but there are enclaves, and sub-demographics, and everyone seems to get along without a great deal of talking about it. Portland is great, but to be honest, I'm about to move to a small mountain town in Washington state. This homo will a go-go to a mountain town. So I'm officially putting out the call for other eligible bachelors to come queer the space–even more than it already is–with me.

(With regards to my coming out story) Mom, Dad, I like dick. At least that's how we joke about it now. I wrote them letters to explain what was going on with my life, and at school. I didn't intend to come out that early, but I was kind of forced out after two friends of mine were talking about it at lunch, and some fellow students overheard. It's rarely easy for anyone to come out, but we do it, and I'm so thankful I did it at a young age. It allowed me to normalize a lot of what would otherwise typically be considered "deviant" sexual behavior. I look at is as though I saved myself years of psycho-babel and internalized homophobia that would just postpone the inevitable, and help no one."