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ne of the most moving emails I have received was from a young boy from Rhode Island: “Hi lol i dnt have a boyfriend n there is no way im attractive enough to b photographed but your whole idea is amazing i love it! i live in southern RI with my family who has been treating me horribly due to my sexual orientation, but when i saw your pictures i smiled because thats what i want..i want a life like that. Its amazing that u r capturing all this....its really really cool...lol jus thought id tell u that” When I read this email, I was instantly brought back to why I started this project. I remembered what it felt like to be in middle school, to feel alone, and to be looking for some form of guidance... This email put my desire to make a difference back into the context of my past. I feel so strongly that the message that I am putting out into the world is needed— it’s needed by kids who feel victimized, people who don’t understand “why” someone could be gay, and anyone who feels marginalized by the world. ... My greatest goal for this work is to reach out and to help the world. It was inspired by own struggle, coming to terms, and discovery of what it really means to be a gay man in the world. Now in place of reflection, I ask: What does it mean as a gay man to follow the pattern of the hetero-norm, years after the rebellion against what once held us down? Photos and Writing by Chad Houle.
40 MPLSzine // FAMILY