Aquari. Gay. Self Love.
Contents:
A GAY MAN’S GUI TO SELF-LOVE
” I also knew that I was gay om a very young age, so hidg my inty beme my biggt prry growg up. Unfortunately, my story isn’t very different om that of a lot of gay men I work wh who have a relig background. Dpe my and my fay’s ntued progrs, homophobia n sometim still rear s ugly head.
Jt this week, my mom told me that one of her clost iends, a iend wh whom she’s had for nearly 40 years and fact, is like an nt to me and someone that I’ve loved—who I still love—said that God is punishg my mom for havg a gay son. Her iend said her “health problems” were bee she hasn’t “nmned my homosexual liftyle.
GAY MEN & RADIL SELF-LOVE
Jt this week, three lleagu shared wh me stanc of homophobia that they’ve wnsed the workplace. And earlier this week, a lleague, who is Clil Director at a theraptic boardg school, lled me to tell me about recent homophobic bullyg that they’d like to addrs. The pathology I had to heal om was homophobia, not homosexualy.
Someone else I know told me about a recent nversatn they overheard where a father said that if his son were to e out as gay, he would “smack the sh*t out of him" bee beg gay wouldn't be tolerated his hoe. It also ma me realize that although I n’t change anyone’s beliefs, I n share my experience, strength, and hope to help shift limed generatnal iology and challenge systemic cultural and relig homophobia. Specifilly for gay men, bee I’m a gay man who specializ workg wh gay men, ’s important to she a light on the trma and toxic shame that is often ternalized.
While the LGBTQ+ muny has ma tremendo progrs, there’s still eper healg work for to do around the effects of external homophobia unnscly seared to our psych. Most young gay men, even when they have affirmg parents, aren’t moled what ’s like to grow up wh an ner sense of self-acceptance for who they are as an LGBTQ+ person. In an article about gay men and an epimic of lonels, the thor wr, “I went to Wt Hollywood bee I thought that’s where my people were.