Where Love Is Illegal

“I grew up in a small town in rural Alberta, where I learned early that something about me wasn’t acceptable.”

“My dream is to live somewhere safe, where I can be myself and help others who’ve suffered like I have.”

“I had thought I was going to die but I did not because of the meds.”

“My greatest fear is if one day we get arrested by Iranian police and deported back, we will be killed by Father before we get killed by the Taliban.”

“Living in a country where our relationship isn’t legally acknowledged presents ongoing difficulties.”

“I feel alienated in the communities I’m part of.”

“Growing up in Haiti, I faced judgments and labels due to my gender expression.”

“Constant bullying and harassment made it painfully clear that I was ‘different’.”

“Embrace the side of yourself that feels shameful or wrong and channel that into your power. You contain multitudes and are much more resilient than you think.”

“Last year February 16 I got arrested from my home in Uganda on the reasons of being Queer.”

With KNESWO, help Bring Christmas Joy to LGBTQI and Queer Refugees in urban areas and camps this year.

“8 years in prison is what awaits me if I return to Ukraine.”

“Staring in the mirror wasn’t always easy for me.”

“I am prepared to unfurl my wings and share love, positivity, and inspiration with people across the globe.”

“Being attracted to men was, for me, just another facet of human nature.”

“Queer Asian PHAs, especially newcomers, face the additional barriers such as lack of access to resources in their native language and social isolation.”

“I was shocked and in denial and scared. I started to think that no one would want to speak to me, that I would lose my job and that I would be completely rejected by society…I started thinking that I was better off dead.”

“I try to be the strange I wanna see in this world. I feel I am very lucky to live in a time where I can be so authentically myself.”

“EVERY 29 HOURS a LGBTQAI+ person dies because of their sexuality or gender identity. It’s very scary to be here.”

“I almost died in the Beirut Port Explosion, but what it taught me was that life is frail, life is fragile and life is silly.”

“We can experience ostracism, judgement, hatred violence, and contempt simply for being who we are or for the work we engage in.”

“I felt sexualized, denigrated, reduced to a criminal and an abomination.”

“What was wrong with me? Was I some cold-hearted monster who couldn’t feel love?”

“We are human, you are human. I am merely a mirror of everything you and a human can be. Do not let that anger you, let that free, heal and Inspire you to live authentically as you.”

“I felt trapped and horrified. I was scared for her life, my life, and my family”

“The Ballroom scene is a place where you can be free,free,free to be you spread your wind and fly high”

“Time is now, no one will speak for your rights if you don’t speak up”

“Curiosity and a taste for play motivated me to overcome my prejudices and apprehensions”

“A veiled body cannot produce a candid heart”

“I wanted my portrait to capture not only who I am, but that it pays homage to the bodhisattvas of the HIV/AIDS response”

“People living with HIV are here to stay and we are resilient and brave”

“I am exactly who I was meant to be: a queer, HIV+, Bi-racial human being”

“Being gay with HIV does not really put me to death, but the labels, discrimination, and stigma do!”

“My experience has been lonely and fearful because of hiding my HIV status from other people.”

“Queer Asian culture seems to only recently come out of the shadows, and its renaissance is now blossoming like a blooming lotus in muddy waters”

“I want to make objects that transform shame into pride, and pride into beauty”

“Jack has always listened to an inner voice urging him to resist and persevere”

“I am a human being, hereby claiming my fluid essence, my right to be whoever I am and anyone I want to be whenever I wish it.”

“I dream of feeling safe in my home and on the streets, to live in dignity and enjoy the simple things in life”

“We don’t become trans, gay… it’s a lie! We are born gay, trans.”

“A lot of people who pass by will judge and criticize, but what do they know about us?”

“As a trans person, you have two possible paths: work hard, get exploited, get nothing; or earn money. It’s not that you want to prostitute yourself, it’s that there is no other choice.”

“We have struggled, we have suffered, we have slept in prison, we have been cold, we have been hungry, we have been beaten, insulted.”

“They all told me that they would call me back… but I knew they wouldn’t.”

“People often wonder why I didn’t go back to my country: It’s too painful to return home with nothing”

“We are 100% discriminated.”

“I knew since age 12 that I should have been born female and I finally got became one at age 59.”

“My parental ‘hurdle’ to overcome was the feelings and internal biases regarding the perception of the process indicative of gender discovery.”

“My wish is that one day Queer kids can share similar stories to mine and that our journeys become a normalized part of society.”