The Sewers of Paris

Revealing stories about the books, movies, tv, music and more that have changed the lives of gay men. Each week, a guest plucks a piece of entertainment from their past, and answers the question: how did it change your life?

https://www.mattbaume.com/sewers-shownotes/

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There's no Word in Afrikaans for Gay (Ep. 6: South Africa)


"We were finally getting our high school crush that we'd missed out on," Johann says, recalling his first date with the man who would become his husband. They met online, flirted for a year, and then finally met up for pizza and nachos, then found a dark street where they could make out. It took Johann a long time to get to that point, though. He grew up in apartheid South Africa, where there were strict limits on any access to gay culture. Sheltered and deeply religious, he could only catch brief glimpses of queer relationships in books like E.M. Forster's Maurice. Even when he tried to come out, his friends wouldn't believe him. He had a two-year relationship with a girl that started after he told her he was gay. So what changed? Drag Race came along at just the right moment. He landed in Seattle around the time that Ben DeLaCreme was hosting weekly screenings of Season 6 at the Century Ballroom, and in the massive audiences that came to watch the show Johann discovered what a queer community looks like. Suddenly, he didn't feel quite so alone.


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 April 30, 2015  55m