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美国国家公共电台 NPR--Anthony Christian Ocampo's latest book is 'Brown and Gay in LA'

时间:2023-09-04 06:31:54

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Anthony Christian1 Ocampo's latest book is 'Brown and Gay in LA'

Transcript2

NPR's A Martinez speaks with author Anthony Christian Ocampo about his book Brown and Gay in LA: The Lives of Immigrant Sons.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

After the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in 2016, Anthony Christian Ocampo well understood that the lives of the LGBTQ community remained under threat. Looking for a connection as a gay man himself, he decided3 to interview the gay sons of Latino and Filipino immigrants in Los Angeles.

ANTHONY CHRISTIAN OCAMPO: LA means a lot of things for a lot of people. For immigrants, it's the land of opportunity, but for a very long time in history, LA has been the safe haven4 for gay people across the country and across the world. And so I see LA as this place where queer people of color had the liberty to experiment and discover who they were.

MART?NEZ: Ocampo writes about all of this in his latest book, "Brown And Gay In LA: The Lives Of Immigrant Sons." He says while some things have gotten better in recent years, other things have changed for the worse. Ocampo spent many a night at West Hollywood's gay bars, a welcoming space for him and others like him.

OCAMPO: Same-sex marriage became federal law in 2015, but at the same time, technological5 advances really have reshaped everyday gay life. So before, when you used the internet to meet other gay people, you had to, like, sit down at a computer and find folks through a website, right? Nowadays we have smartphones where you can meet someone pretty much anywhere you go. And while that is definitely an advantage, I think what it did is it changed the landscape of gay communities. For example, people didn't have to go to the club to meet people. But when you have to go to these queer POC clubs, there's something almost sacred about those spaces when that's the only place where you have the oxygen to breathe.

MART?NEZ: It makes me think, too - you mentioned how same-sex marriage happened in 2015. The Pulse shooting happened almost a year after that in 2016. I mean, it just seems like it was a very ugly reminder6 that for gay men, equality didn't mean erasing7 fear and living in fear.

OCAMPO: Not at all. And as you can see from what's happening in states like Florida and other states where they're penalizing8 parents who are supporting their trans children, the fear is not in any way disappearing.

MART?NEZ: So let's get into that, about parents and especially immigrant parents when it comes to their sons who are gay, who are living a life that they haven't exactly been their true, honest selves yet, at least to their parents. Why is that different than, say, anyone else?

OCAMPO: If there's one thing that unites children of immigrants, this second-generation group, it's that they know very much from a young age that their parents sacrificed a lot to be here. They moved to a different country. They may not have known anyone. They might have started down and out when they arrived in the United States and then sort of fought their way to a middle-class existence. And I think that because they're aware of these trials and tribulations9 that their immigrant parents went through, they feel a need to honor that by being their best selves - doing well in school, going to college, getting a good job, potentially supporting them. And I think part of that narrative10 is also making sure that they can start a family in the way their parents had envisioned it. There's one story that I open the book with, this young man named Franklin Flores. He's a college student. He embodies11 an immigrant parent's American dream. He's doing well in school. He was going to go to grad school. But he told me quite often in our conversation, I'm afraid that me being gay is going to somehow ruin my parents' dreams for us in this country.

MART?NEZ: And how often does that happen where parents completely see their own children in a different light after that announcement happens?

OCAMPO: So I interviewed over 60 young men of Mexican, Filipino, Salvadoran descent, and out of all of them, all but two had experiences coming out that were very difficult. Their parents denied it, rejected them, reacted in ways that were not very supportive, citing the Bible as a reason why they can't be gay. And some took them to therapy. Some even took them to conversion12 therapy. And I think that those were difficult moments because for these young men that finally come to terms with being gay, that should be a liberating13 moment. That's an exciting moment. And so to have the people that you would expect would support you most react in the opposite way - it was really traumatic for a lot of folks.

I'm thinking about this one Mexican American young man who said that he tried to do everything to make his parents happy. He graduated top of his class. He went to a fancy East Coast college. And at the end of his college career, he was going to come out to his mom. He thought that she would react supportively, but in fact, she reacted incredibly harshly. She said, I thought I gave birth to a boy. I didn't think I gave birth to a girl. And he tried to insist that, Mom, I'm still a boy. I'm just a boy who likes boys. And when his mom rejected him, it sort of prompted him to spiral in a really downward direction.

MART?NEZ: Now, this book in a lot of ways is almost autobiographical for you because you were 22 when you came out to your family. There was one thing in this book that the guy we mentioned before, Franklin Flores, told you that stood out to me. Can you read what he told you?

OCAMPO: Yeah. He said, I want to have a closer relationship to my mom. And this was when he was thinking about coming out. He said, (reading) I think there are parts of me I won't be able to understand until I come out, until I can have conversations with my mom about her relationships or where I can open up to my mom about what the meaning of love is or how you know that you're in love. When I can have those conversations with my mom, I think I will better understand my own history.

MART?NEZ: So I'm going to throw that question to you then. What were you able to understand better about your own history and about your family once you finally came out?

OCAMPO: I'm pausing because it's bringing me back to that moment 20 years ago, but I think one of the things that I learned is that parents love their kids, and even if they don't have the language to express that love, I think my parents found ways to try to relate to me. I remember when I went through my first breakup with someone significant, and there were moments when my mom tried to relate her own dating history to my experience. And, you know, even though she's not joining PFLAG, which is, like, that organization for parents of gay kids, it really meant a lot that she was willing to share her own story of her first heartbreak. And I think that even if it was a difficult experience for me to go through that, the silver lining14 was that I learned a lot more about who my mom was before she was my mom.

MART?NEZ: And what did you learn about you?

OCAMPO: I actually learned that there's a lot of similarities between me and my mom. We're both very petty and vengeful, and we're all about proving people wrong when we're doubted. And I would have never discovered that had I not heard about the way my mom spoke15 about how resilient she was and how petty she was about her first breakup. I absolutely love that we were able to share that story of our first breakup with each other.

MART?NEZ: Anthony Christian Ocampo's book is called "Brown And Gay In LA: The Lives Of Immigrant Sons." Anthony, thanks a lot for coming in.

OCAMPO: Thanks for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
2 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 haven 8dhzp     
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所
参考例句:
  • It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,这真是一个安乐窝。
  • The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
5 technological gqiwY     
adj.技术的;工艺的
参考例句:
  • A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
  • Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今, 随着科技进步,生活节奏不断增快。
6 reminder WkzzTb     
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示
参考例句:
  • I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
  • It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。
7 erasing 363d15bcbcde17f34d1f11e0acce66fc     
v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 );抹去;清除
参考例句:
  • He was like a sponge, erasing the past, soaking up the future. 他象一块海绵,挤出过去,吸进未来。 来自辞典例句
  • Suddenly, fear overtook longing, erasing memories. 突然,恐惧淹没了渴望,泯灭了回忆。 来自辞典例句
8 penalizing 131b6b7509f81de83730275d15a0bbea     
对…予以惩罚( penalize的现在分词 ); 使处于不利地位
参考例句:
  • This is more than just penalizing a company that you are mad at. 她说:这将远远超过惩罚一个你感到不满的公司。
9 tribulations 48036182395310e9f044772a7d26287d     
n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 );艰难;苦难的缘由;痛苦
参考例句:
  • the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
  • The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
11 embodies 6b48da551d6920b8da8eb01ebc400297     
v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 );象征;包括;包含
参考例句:
  • The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 conversion UZPyI     
n.转化,转换,转变
参考例句:
  • He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
  • Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。
13 liberating f5d558ed9cd728539ee8f7d9a52a7668     
解放,释放( liberate的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
  • They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中,他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
14 lining kpgzTO     
n.衬里,衬料
参考例句:
  • The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
  • Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。
15 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

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