“What is there to be ashamed of?”
During my sophomore year of college, I dropped out of the Foreign Trade University and started making films. Before this, I was making documentaries about queer issues. I showed my mom the finished project. Yeah, she cried a whole lot and whatnot, then she went silent. Then, I went to the iSEE Institute and took a bunch of learning materials home. I told everyone straight to their faces: “Here’s some scientific research. Read them, and when you’re done, do me a favor and stop being so damn sad” (laughter). I left things at that, I was always so carefree.
After that, my mom still wanted me to go get “treated” for homosexuality. My dad heard her make her case and then said: “You can’t cure that, it’s genetics’ fault, not his!” I was really happy then. By pure luck, I got my dad as an ally in the family.
One Tết we came back to our hometown in Lào Cai, I went out and dressed really flamboyantly. Mom said: “Oh God! So flamboyant!” to which I responded: “Well I am gay after all.” Sometime later, my mom told me that if by some chance I have a child, my parents would still want to raise the baby. That’s pretty much all I need to feel warm and positive inside.
For me, life is pretty good. What’s wrong with being gay? What is there to be ashamed of, right?
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Rồi Sẽ Ổn Thôi (“Gonna Be Alright”) is a project that collects coming out stories from the LGBTIQ+ community and their loved ones in Việt Nam. To find out more details or to read more stories from the project, please visit our official social media site on Instagram at ComingOutVN.
