“It’s not perfect body, gym-toned, and no facial hair,” said Mr. He said he felt like he’d finally found a home.
Of big, burly men who were attracted to other men. Charlesworth remained confused, first about his sexuality, then about his place within gay culture, until he stumbled upon a Web site dedicated to “bears.” It was the first time he’d seen images He said he had a hard time figuring out who he was, but he knew he wasn’t like the well-manicured, muscular men withĪ penchant for designer clothes and musicals on those television shows. High school, he couldn’t find anything that reflected it, or an outlet to express it. He said that while he questioned his sexuality in Charlesworth had a hard time relating, or being attracted to, those kinds of images. Gay men as either comically effeminate, or supersculpted and image conscious. Charlesworth knew about gay culture came from television shows like “Will and Grace.” Mainstream culture tends to depict But for many gay men, including the photographer Alan Charlesworth, there’s anotherĪs a teenager growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia during the 1990s, all that Mr. Their sexuality, figure out they’re gay, accept that they are and finally, take pride in it.
Many assume all gay people will first be confused about There are between four and six stages to coming out as gay, according to people who study these sorts of things.
