Stephen, 19 years old, gay : ’I sat at T.G.I. Fridays with my dad in april of this year. I just said it, in the middle of dinner. I wasn’t going to say it, but then I did it anyways: ’Dad, there’s something, I need to tell you: ’I’m gay.’ ’He just sat there, and put his hands on his head, then he walked out. Didn’t talk to me. He emailed me later, and told me that he wasn’t paying for college anymore. You’re not allowed to come home,’ he said. ’I expected it to be different. I’m glad I got homeless in a way, because I feel it humbles me. One of my friends call it ’civilian bootcamp’, because the days before you find a shelter, you don’t sleep. It took me 5 days. I was too afraid to sleep. I finally fell asleep on a bench at Christopher Street. That’s the only time I slept,’ Stephen says.

The good news is that these days many young gays and lesbians gather the courage to come out at an earlier age than they used to only a few years back; the bad news is that many parents still do not accept the idea of having a gay child, and take the very bad decision of kicking them out of their house.

This content is restricted to subscribers

Join FotoRoom

Amateur Only €10/year	Pro Only €20/year
FotoCal (+) Open Calls (+) No banners!	FotoCal (+) Open Calls (+) The Button (+) Search (+) No banners!
Select Plan	Select Plan

Amateur

Only €10/year

Pro

Only €20/year

Select Plan

Photo Ewan Telford

Keep looking...

Fashion Photography and Portraiture Blend in Simon’s ‘Masculinity’ Series

Moldova Elsewhere — Alfredo Covino Photographs Daily Life in a Declining Country

FotoCal — Photography Awards, Grants and Calls for Entries Closing in July 2018

Selfies That Count — Matthew Humphreys Portrays Himself with His Alzheimer’s-Afflicted Father

People of Clay — Akshay Mahajan’s Images are Inspired by India’s Popular Myths and Legends

This Side — Erin Lee Gives Voice to the Mexicans Living along the U.S.-Mexican Border

Leah Edelman-Brier Confronts Her Fear of Becoming Like Her Mother in Brutally Honest Photos

Margarita Nikitaki Takes Claustrophobic Photographs of Athens’ Cityscapes

More...