“God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” a boy shouted to Josh.
They were at a school assembly, and Josh Castillo had just come out to his entire 8th grade.
“People were booing at the boy, but I was still upset,” said Castillo.
Castillo recounted his coming-out story and his struggles of being gay through a Flip video camera in his home. His video was then edited and included in a documentary produced by Youth Rights Media called Labeled.
Ten to 12 students have been active members in the process of producing the documentary since January. Their film premieres Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Yale Art Gallery.
New Haven-based Youth Rights Media that describes itself as “a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth to know, protect and advance their rights. YRM builds youth power and leadership by teaching media production and community organizing, equipping young people with tools, skills, and strategies for affecting change within themselves and their communities.”
Ariela Martin Photo
The idea to create a documentary about LGBT youth began in January, when students in the program were split up into three groups and “brainstormed topics that they wanted to pursue,” said YRM Executive Director Janis Astor del Valle (pictured). After presenting their ideas to the group, the students decided “LGBT youth was a topic they wanted to focus on.”
“Many of [the students] had friends that were LGBT, and they saw some of the struggles that they were having in school and homes, and they felt that they wanted to get the message across that LGBT kids should be treated just like any other kid. They wanted justice and fairness.”
After the students’ decision, they began to do research and started filming. They “interviewed experts in the field, and even conducted a panel discussion in a classroom at Coop[erative Arts & Humanities High School]. It’s been quite a process. From January until now, they’ve been working quite steadily on this.”
The video will feature a range of people, from high school students to specialists to LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) people. For example, Reverend Brian Hutchinson, a pastor at the LGBT-focused Metropolitan Community Church, was interviewed. He spoke about being gay and its role in religion.
Adina McCray (pictured) has been a part of Youth Rights Media since September 2011. She goes to Hamden High School with Castillo, and Justine Lee, another LGBT teen who participated in the film. McCray asked if the two students would be willing to be a part of the video. They said yes. They then each brought home a Flip camera, “so they were comfortable and could answer the questions truthfully and freely,” said McCray. McCray gave them questions to answer in the video, like “the story of their coming out, what it’s like for them in school, and how their family and friends reacted.” The questions were divided into three areas that form the general layout of the documentary. The three areas reflect the influences that come from LGBT youth: media, school, and family and faith.
Victor Juarez (pictured), who attends High School in the Community, was working on the audio and making sure it was consistent throughout the entire film. Since he starting working on the film, he said, he has grown more aware “of sayings like, ‘That’s so gay.’ I don’t use them anymore, because I realize the impact it has on LGBT kids.”
On the wall is printed screenshots of scenes from the film. The screenshots indicate audio that may need to be changed, and any additional notes about the scene.
He said he hopes that the film will give the message to students, parents, and friends that “being gay is not a choice. We want people to walk away with knowledge about the topic, because not a lot of people know about it.”
McCray and Astor del Valle.
McCray agreed. “If we change the mind of at least one person, we’ve made a difference,” he said.
Lee and Castillo.
Lee has experienced firsthand the negativity of sayings like “that’s so gay.” Her mother used to use them, but stopped when her daughter came out. “She’ll still sometimes say things like ‘my gay friend.’ What do you need to automatically say that he’s gay? Why can’t he just be a friend, no matter his sexual preference? It gets me really annoyed.”
Although all of her peers at school know she’s bisexual, she is too “afraid to tell my aunt or grandmother because I’m afraid they won’t accept me,” Lee said. She said the film has made her more confident to come out to the rest of her family: “Filming myself made me realize who I am, and I was shocked by what I was saying.”
Castillo agreed: “It was very reflective to talk about my journey and what I’ve gone through. Even though I was alone and have filmed myself in front of a camera before, I became nervous and hesitant when I started filming.”
Castillo is the publicity officer at a school club called STTOP, which stands for Students Teaching Tolerance, Openness, and Pride. Being a part of the club “has helped me a lot,” he said. “When I was in middle school, I was very mean, but it was because inside I felt very alone. When high school hit, I realized that I needed to accept that I was gay, and I moved on. Now I’m really happy with who I am. I always tell people, when ‘I came out the womb, I came out the closet!’”
Ariela Martin, a student at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, is an Independent contributing reporter.