LGBTQIA+ spaces say ‘all are welcome’, but Asian men know better
From dating profiles that request “No Asians” to racist comments in night clubs, the gay community doesn’t feel inclusive for many Asian American men.
WORDS BY JAKE ANGELO, UNCLOSETED MEDIA
PHOTO COURTESY OF CODY SEIYA
DESIGN BY SAM DONNDELINGER
Cody Seiya did not feel welcome in Provincetown.
“Is that for yellow pride?” a man sneered at Seiya in the middle of Ptown’s tea dance, referring to a yellow bandanna he was wearing around his neck.
It wasn’t the first time Seiya, a 33-year-old gay Asian American, had experienced racism from other queer men. Years earlier at Rage, a now-closed gay club in West Hollywood, another white man asked him what he was doing there.
“It’s not Gameboi night,” the man said to him, referring to the Asian-themed weekly party the venue hosted.
