Aug 22, 2007Quickie Link: Gay Kids in Bronx On The Down Low
By vanrozenheim
(USA) - The Bronx is home to a surprising number of LGBT high school students, teens say, but they must remain closeted for fear of harassment. "The Bronx is the gayest place on Earth," said Mimi, an outspoken young man who comes to the Bronx Community Pride Center frequently. He compares his neighborhood of Parkchester to the Gay-friendly West Village. "This is the mini-Village, sweetie. Welcome." "There is a large population of LGBT people living in the Bronx," said Zachariah Hennessey, a program director at the center, one of the few Gay services organization in the Bronx. "It is a hidden demographic here. Homosexuality is very much on the down low."
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Re: Gay Kids in Bronx On The Down Low
(Score: 1)
by Rain (fakemail@dontmailme.com)
on Aug 22, 2007 - 03:59 AM (User information
Hmmm...times sure have changed since I was a teenager. Back in the not too distant past, it was actually cool to be gay here in the Bronx. To the point that we had a social circle that included straight boys and girls and some straight boys that "passed" for gay just so they could be accepted. We vogued down the Grand Concourse (the Bronx's largest thoroughfare...it's equivalent to Fifth Avenue) with a boom box and people would come rushing out to cheer us on.
In high school, the "in" crowd was almost exclusively gay, with a scattering of the prettiest girls and the hunkiest basketball players. And in college no one batted an eye when I would kiss my boyfriend on the lips in the cafeteria or played Little Louie Vega's x-rated version of "French Kiss" during tabling for my annual, week-long Gay & Lesbian Symposium every May.
The reason for the harrassment is directly related to the need to stay in the closet. The more visable you are as a gay person the more desensitized straights are and the less likely you will be viewed as a freak.
Hip-hop culture demands that you stay closeted. It's just not cool to be gay and a hip-hop fan these days. Not in New York, at least. So these kids hide in order to fit in. Not us. We came out in order to fit in. It was a different atmosphere. Never mind that the arrival of HIV/AIDS cast a long and dark shadow on all gays...but especially in a place like the Bronx where around 30% of the population is infected (and possibly higher). These are very stigmatizing and compellling reasons for teenagers to hide their sexuality.
