Life in the city is crazy for everyone. It’s just a fact. The world of a gay man in the city is a different type of wild. It is a whirlwind of partying, sex, love, heartbreak, and dancing. This world is hidden to the rest of society. It happens behind closed doors, packed clubs, and in dark hallways. Of course you see the occasional gay couple in at a restaurant sipping wine or in a park holding hands. But, a large portion of the LGBTQ community is still fearful of showing any type of love in public. Even in a progressive city like New York, you get glares or get called a “faggot” for show affection in public. Simply giving your significant other a kiss in public can be a risk. A lot of this is a carry over of internalized homophobia and bullying from adolescence into adulthood. There are so many issues inside the gay community that need to be addressed, but even now we’re still fighting just to survive in society. We party our butts off in our “safe-places”, but as soon as we walk out the door, the men who can pass as straight, disassociate with the rest of us, and the men who can’t pass, put back up their defenses. This is such a trivial thing compared to other marginalized communities like people of color or even the trans community. But non-the-less, being called a fag is still hurtful. I don’t think that in this political environment, this will get better – but I have to hope someday it will.