Culture Shock 3.0 – On Being Gay in London

Whenever one moves to a new place, there’s a period that’s spent learning how the people do things and trying to integrate into the community. It’s very different from being a tourist in that place and London is no different. The learning curve was no joke. Knowing how important the things that are not said were just as important as understanding what was being said (in clipped, polite tones of course). I had to learn how to make friends all over again. A friend recently told me that she’s been in London for 15 years and she still doesn’t know how to make friends here (she’s from Paris). Aside from weathering the culture shock of a new environment, us gay people have to learn what’s acceptable in any gay society and how to fit in. It hasn’t been easy but it has definitely been fun and illuminating. Some of these may be slightly NSFW. Either that or I’m more prudish that I think:

 

An Unnecessary Misadventure Courtesy of Carelessness

I was hanging out with an older cousin recently when she asked to see my phone. I don’t know if I had momentarily forgotten the kind of information I keep on that device or if I was subconsciously trying to out myself. To cut a short story even shorter, I gave the phone to her then spent the next five minutes holding my breath while feigning nonchalance though my eyes were involuntarily drawn to the screen as she scrolled through my applications list and past the popular gay chat apps – Grindr etc.