This project relays the lives of four current college students: John and Stephen, both freshman; Eric, a sophomore; and Trevor, a senior. All four men (identified by pseudonyms) are gay. While their views on contemporary gay issues are similar, they come at them from different backgrounds and experiences. Their narratives are hashed out on this web site, but they are left mainly unaltered, as the reader is left to decide for themselves what can be learned from the gay experience. The snippets below provide a quick introduction to our subjects.
John began having homosexual feelings at the beginning of puberty, had his first gay sexual experience as a freshman in high school, and has been out of the closet since the middle of tenth grade. Growing up in a conservative community, John was not immediately accepted by his loved ones--his father kicked him out of his house on multiple occasions. Even now, though his parents are working toward accepting him, it is still a battle. He has yet to bring a partner home.
Stephen, by contrast, didn’t come out fully until after his senior year of high school. Although he had homosexual tendencies since the sixth grade, he kept his emotions bottled inside of himself. At first, he was confused: as a 12 year old, he didn’t know what the word “gay” meant. Stephen, who is of mixed race came out less than a year ago to his sister, and promptly after began seeing his first partner. By the end of the summer, he had come out to his parents, who were understanding of Stephen. He began school this fall as a gay man, and his peers are fully aware of his sexual preference.
Eric is still defining his sexuality, and is hesitant to call himself a “gay man.” Throughout high school, he explored his heterosexual feelings. But a year and a half ago, he had a the realization that there was a whole different side to sexuality--homosexuality--that he was missing out upon. And so he began to experiment, to the point now where his sexual and emotional experiences are almost entirely with men. “It’s been a weird process for me, and I haven’t been able to meet anyone who has been able to relate to it,” he said.
Trevor was in a heterosexual relationship for two years in middle school, but after breaking up with his girl friend, he began to notice that he began to look at his male peers as more than just friends--he began to see them in a sexual way. He first came out on a summer program between his freshman and sophomore year of high school--he told everyone on his program, and had a small fling with one of the trip’s participants. Later in high school, he came out to his school--this opened the door to a handful of other students and teachers, who had been hiding in the closet for years. He then told his parents, who, although disappointed that they may not get grandchildren, were accepting of Trevor’s sexual preference.
