John

John, age 7
Pierre Part, Louisiana (1996)

I grew up in a small bayou town.
My mom was a single mother who loved dressing up and going out.

I almost always copied her style in the male form and I loved having grown up with confidence taught.

But that didn't last long.

In the world, and even inside our own gay community, people are picked apart.

And now I find myself grasping to find some self-confidence.

I think the most important message I want to send out is to always keep that confidence.

And I don't mean fake confidence.

Someone will love every part of you, so what I'm trying to say is:

Own all that you are!

I hate the whole masculine/feminine label, because I am personally the "/" symbol in that equation.

Remember that no matter who you are, you are a snowflake and you are unique and deserve to be a part of this world. You deserve to breathe and conquer!
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Cricket

Cricket, age 7
Biloxi, Mississippi (1984)

My photo is from an Arts & Crafts fair I was at with my grandmother, my aunt, and my cousins. We were selling handmade monkey puppets that wrapped around your body. They wanted me to pose next to the rocking pony for a picture, and I didn't want to. Hence the sassy attitude, which I still have today.

I was raised in the suburbs of New Orleans, and my mom and dad were divorced before I was born.

My grandparents and an aunt raised me with a watchful eye.

I was not a shy boy, and I was very outgoing, artsy, and athletic. I loved tumbling, painting, volleyball, soccer, and cheerleading.

My father tried to get me to play more "manly" sports, but that never worked out.

I always felt different, and not like my cousins or anyone I knew.


I first realized I was gay was when a neighbor's son (a Marine) came to get me to drive me to where my father was with his friends.

We were walking down the street and he asked if I wanted to race. I said sure, and he took off like a bat out of hell. All I could look at was his butt. It was so perfectly round! I was so attracted to it, but didn't know what that feeling meant.

Today, I'm a dental assistant living in Chicago with barely any communication with my family. I feel my father is ashamed of me for being gay, and that most of my family is mad at me for leaving to try and pursue a life outside of the south.

But I'm still dancing and cheerleading, and I love it.
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Click here - "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Click here - "My First Gay Crush Blog"
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Gérard

Gérard, age 8
New Orleans, LA (1974)

The birthday teddy bear is Pierre and that's my beautiful mother, Judith. I hadn't seen her in about a year, so this day was special, as she had come home. My parents had a tumultuous marriage, and she often ran away from her problems.

As I saw her arriving from afar, I didn't recognize her at first. But I remembered the wind blowing through her hair and playfully ruffling her skirt. Her vision was beautiful, statuesque, and breathtaking.

My parents had 10 kids, and I was the youngest and gayest. By 8 I knew I was different than my 4 older brothers and father. I had more fun with my 5 sisters than any young male child should have.

The fact that I had a huge teddy bear in my hands, at that age, was proof enough. My love for musicals hinted also.

I was called "sissy" and "girl" etc. by my siblings and others. And unfortunately, my parents were Jehovah's Witnesses for a time. I joined when I was much older.

I was trying to escape my gayness, and was "disfellowshipped" at age 21, because
I kissed a guy. By that time, my mother had passed on when I was 17, so I was dealing with a lot. I tried suicide many times and, thankfully, never succeeded.

Now, I'm almost 45 and I'm very happy that I'm still here.
Presently, I'm single, but I know there's love out there for me.

As for you, just be who you are! LOVE yourself, and don't waste time trying to live the life others hope for you. It's not worth it. Remember that you were born this way, and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

Gérard's first, famous-person same sex crush:
Michael Gray (Billy Baxton on "Shazam")
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André

André, age 4

Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1972)

I recently came across this photo as I was scanning old slides for my parents.
I remember it was Easter of 1972. I'm holding a tiny purse my grandma made from an old margarine container, combined with delicate crocheting.

When I shared this photo with mom, she remarked at how cute my little sister was. When I pointed out that the photo was not of her daughter,
but rather, was of her proud, 4-year old son - she silently turned the page.

Growing up, my sexuality was the proverbial elephant in the room:

Always present, but never discussed.

I've heard we can only see the world with the light we've been given. When it came to my being gay, my parents never had the light they both needed to understand.

In my 12 years of Catholic schooling, just about every report card included the comment, "André is a sensitive boy." That was Catholic school code for "Gay as a daisy."

It was tough growing up "sensitive" and the journey was never easy. It was worth it, though. I can now say I love who I am, and I love the life I've built for myself.

I love that I've learned to honor and protect that sensitive, little boy with the pink Easter purse and black galoshes.

As an adult, I have a terrific job as a writer. I have a wonderful partner and a cozy home with 3 cats. It's exactly the kind of life that I was told would never be an option for me. A life filled with friends, family, and an occasional pink purse.

I live openly and proudly, and try to inspire others to do the same.
And I try to be that light for those who live in darkness.

That's how things get better.
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Click here - "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Click here - "My First Gay Crush Blog"

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Chrissy

Chrissy, age 8

Kaplan, LA (1986)

This picture was taken at the peak of me being called a tomboy. People often asked why I don't play with girls or dolls more often, and I'd tell them that they bore me. I also quickly informed people that I hated Barbie and much preferred He-Man, Ninja Turtles, and Nintendo. I recall wondering why it even mattered.

I grew up in Cajun Country, where gender roles are emphasized, almost to a caricature. While I was enrolled in ballet and gymnastics - until I landed on a girl's head, then quit - I also enjoyed climbing trees, karate lessons, and playing baseball with the boys.

My first cognizant crush on a girl was about when I was in 8th grade; she was a pretty blond named Nichole. As a practicing Roman Catholic, I faced a lot of inner turmoil when I realized I was attracted to women.

My friends and family, however, were nothing short of phenomenal in accepting me when I came out at age 18.

I was a lot harsher on myself than anyone else, except maybe my fundamentalist Christian brother. We went 3 years without speaking after I came out, but we are now civil to one another.

Staying in the closet for so long was one of the most detrimental things I've done to my self-esteem. I encourage all young, closeted LGBT's to be bold and come out as soon as it's safe. It may very well go a lot better than you expect.

And anyone who rejects you doesn't deserve to have you in your life.

Chrissy's first, famous-person same sex crush:

Reba McEntire

Reba. So country! Oh, and Sherilyn Fenn from 'Twin Peaks'
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Jeffrey

Jeffrey, age 4

Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1977)

I am on the right, like you couldn't guess, with Christian, my younger brother. At age 6, I knew that splashing around the backyard inflatable pool was better with disco music. So I had Mom play disco tunes out of the tinny little mono radio. I liked it so loud that it nearly burst the speaker. Disco dancing in the pool involved flailing my arms around and splashing my completely resigned younger brother.

"Esther Williams, eat your heart out!"

You might think growing up Southern Baptist in the deep South was a recipe for disaster, but my parents showed me so much love (and demonstrated acceptance of individuality), that I never felt bad about being different.

I had a crush on Todd, a counselor at Baptist Bible camp the same summer this picture was taken. I remember needing a great deal of time and attention from him in the pool at camp. I even "accidentally" swam into him.

Gay/Les/Queer/Bi kids should know that the very stuff that makes life tortuous as a kid, makes life delicious as an adult.

As Oscar Wilde reminds us:
"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance."

Jeffrey's first, famous-person same sex crush:

Tom Selleck ("Magnum, P.I.")

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Andrew

Andrew, age 7
Ruston, LA (1984)

I was a very sweet, shy, stereotypical teacher's pet. This was snack time after my kindergarten graduation. The only thing I remember is being happy that I got to sit next to this girl. I liked her.

"Snack Time"

I knew I was gay form a very early age. My older sister was in theater, so I knew what it was. And I knew the word was "gay". We lived way out in the country, and I remember being about 5 years old, and my much older brother had his track buddies over to run around our property. I loved their super skimpy 1980's running shorts, with the white pant-liner things inside.

About my first crushes: I taped the miniseries "Elvis & Me" and watched it over and over. Later I had crushes on James Dean and Greg Louganis. I wrote letters to people to try and get Greg's address including Oprah (she wrote back but didn't give me the address) and The Advocate (who DID give me his address). Greg wrote me back and I still have the signed photo of him diving.
 
Looking back at this pic of me now?
Well - my hand gestures are still pretty much the same.

Andrew's first, famous-person same sex crush:

Elvis Presley
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Kevin

Kevin, age 7

Basking Ridge, New Jersey (1990)

"Thpeak and thpell"

The photo itself might not scream "little gay boy" -

but upon careful inspection, you'll notice I had all of four teeth at this time. For some reason, my adult teeth took forever to grow in, leaving me with the thickest lisp possible.

For years. It was so bad, that my school had to send me to speech class for 3 years - a class they created just for me.

Thus, I thounded like the gayeth little boy in the whole thcool.

It also didn't help that I wore that mock turtle neck every day, like it was a full time job.

I remember an obsession with swords at this time in my life. Why? So I could pretend to be She-Ra, of course. Never He-Man. Nobody could make out the fact that I was saying 'By the power of Grayskull', and aunts and uncles still tease me to this day my shouting 'Baw-dee-aw-nees of Graythkull!' ... Good times.

In retrospect, it all worked out really well. I grew up from a little, gay boy to a big, gay man. And I now run a company called Unicorn Booty that helps keeps the LGBTQ community aware of pop-culture and activism.

Kevin's first, famous-person same sex crush:

Joey Lawrence (from "Blossom")

Kevin is also featured in the
"Born This Way: Real Stories Of Growing Up Gay" book!
Click HERE to check it out.
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