Barazoku , which translates to "The Rose Tribe" was the first commercially ran gay men's magazine in Japan. I learned about it from reading Yukio Mishima, and my memory is a bit vague about how involved he was in the magazine, but, for me, he represented this type of bigger, muscular gay Asian male. Granted, Mishima was and still is not a great role model for gay men. Seppuku and honor was all in his books, as he himself commited seppuku in a coup attempt. But for me, a kid in his 20's who was ashamed of his sexuality, and sense of masculinity, turned to Barazoku as an ideal self and attraction. Just seeing Asian men being confident in their sexuality and just living their lives gave me hope that there was something better out there, since coming out wasn't a great experience: being laughed at, being told I'm going to Hell, being somewhat disowned and being told I was replaceable definitely changed my world view on what I believed in and the people around...
Formerly the RetailMFA, This is the Poetry Blog of Darrell Dela Cruz