Multi-Cultural Interviews in Windy City Times (Chicago)

Numerous interviews focusing on cultural experiences within Chicago's gay community were published online at Windy City Times this week. Here's one excerpt:

Phillip Ozaki, 22, Filipino and Japanese-American:

"As if I didn't have enough identity struggle being both Japanese and Filipino, and American, to add the gay identity to it is just a huge struggle."

"The Japanese perspective is one of practicality. It's like, 'Why would you marry a gay person? You can't have kids.' In Japanese culture you're supposed to be very socialized and very like everybody else. It's very taboo and unknown and invalid to be a homosexual.

"But Japanese Americans have this long history of struggle and internment camps and especially civil rights. So I feel like they're more tolerant of other cultures especially the gay community because they understand that American culture can take away the rights of minorities just for being a certain identity.

"The Filipino perspective is very different. Gay means super flamboyant. They're really Catholic. The majority of gay Filipinos I've met are closeted to their parents, and identify as bisexual as a leeway to act like they're straight. In Filipino-American culture I'd say it's the same way: very closeted, very Catholic, very not discussed.

"It's as if no one really gets me, I think. Because I'm ethnic and because I'm a minority it's like this double minority. It's like I'm double silenced. The way I like to say it is: The more of a struggle you have the more you have to fight for."