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Asian man is sick of being ignored by the “white-painted gay community”

Asian man is sick of being ignored by the “white-painted gay community”

An Asian man is at his wit’s end over what he calls the “white-painted gay community” that he feels constantly rejects him.

“As a queer man of color—I’m Asian—I feel wounded whenever I am exposed to gay men in New York City, Toronto, or any city where white gay men dominate,” the man recently wrote to advice columnist Dan Savage. “Gay men, mostly whites and Asians, reject me because of my race, and no one admits to their sexual racism.”

He continues: “I understand that sexual attraction is subconscious for many people. But it is unfair for a gay Asian like myself to be constantly marginalized and rejected.”

He then goes on to list all the things he has in common with other gay men.

“I fight for gay rights too. I believe in equality too. I had the same pain of being gay in high school and the same fears when coming out. Why is there no acceptance, no space, no welcome for me in this white-painted gay community?”

“I’m six-foot-one, 160 pounds, fit, and very good-looking,” he concludes. “What can I do? I might as well be a sexless monk!”

Of course, this is hardly the first time we’ve heard from Asian males who say they are discriminated against within the gay community. In 2012, film editor Justin Huang published a powerful op-ed in which he detailed the ways in which he feels constantly “aesthetically marginalized” by other gay men.

And we’ve all seen profiles on dating apps that explicitly say “No Asians.”

What do you think? Are gay Asian men pariahs in a community dominated by white men? And, if so, what can be done to ameliorate the situation? Sound off in the comments.

h/t: Chicago Reader

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