Brown and Gay in LA: The Lives of Immigrant Sons

Ocampo (The Latinos of Asia) documents the challenges of growing up gay for second-generation urban Latinos and Filipinos in this insightful blend of ethnography and memoir. Homophobic attitudes pervaded and oppressed the lives of Ocampo’s interviewees from early childhood. Manny Roldan recalls his grandmother reprimanding his “gay” laugh, while Joaquin Marquez confronted his family’s prejudiced priest during Sunday Spanish Mass (“You’re not God!”). Excelling in academics was one way to “counteract the stigma of being seen as gay,” but racism remained omnipresent. Upon entering an LGBTQ club at Georgetown University, for example, Armando Garza’s impression was of unwelcoming “rich White kids.” In contrast, community and empowerment were found at clubs and chat rooms specifically organized by and for queer people of color. Ocampo catalogs how various experiences of “coming out” or “being outed” illuminate how quests for love, loyalty, and belonging manifest, including how some “may have been victimized by masculinity [but] to maintain rapport and support from family, they were willing to denigrate other gay men.” The author’s own relationship with his parents after coming out improved only after his parents met and connected with his partner. Ocampo creates a collective voice out of the many people he interviewed while simultaneously honoring each experience. The result is a daring and provocative portrait of a uniquely diverse generation. (Sept.)