Brown and Gay in LA, Anthony Christian Ocampo
Brown and Gay in LA, Anthony Christian Ocampo
List: $21.99 | Sale: $15.39
Club: $10.99

Brown and Gay in LA
The Lives of Immigrant Sons

Author: Anthony Christian Ocampo

Narrator: Grayson Villanueva

Unabridged: 6 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2022


Synopsis

The stories of second-generation immigrant gay men coming of age in Los Angeles
Growing up in the shadow of Hollywood, the gay sons of immigrants featured in Brown and Gay in LA could not have felt further removed from a world where queerness was accepted and celebrated. Instead, the men profiled here maneuver through family and friendship circles where masculinity dominates, gay sexuality is unspoken, and heterosexuality is strictly enforced. For these men, the path to sexual freedom often involves chasing the dreams while resisting the expectations of their immigrant parents—and finding community in each other.
Ocampo also details his own story of reconciling his queer Filipino American identity and those of men like him. He shows what it was like for these young men to grow up gay in an immigrant family, to be the one gay person in their school and ethnic community, and to be a person of color in predominantly White gay spaces. Brown and Gay in LA is an homage to second-generation gay men and their radical redefinition of what it means to be gay, to be a man, to be a person of color, and, ultimately, what it means to be an American.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on September 27, 2022

"Coming out as gay is sometimes framed as a personal journey. But like the journey immigrants make, it's hardly an individual act." Brown And Gay In L.A. was such an illuminating read for me. The focus of the book is on the experiences of Latino and Filipino men in L.A. navigating their sexuality wit......more

Goodreads review by Stephani on April 24, 2023

I’m biased because the author is my cousin but I stand by my rating. A short read and worth every minute.......more

Goodreads review by Jay on December 09, 2022

Reading this book felt like seeing my life in pages. As someone who is in the intersection of what he is talking about in this book (1. brown, 2. gay, and 3. in LA), there are a lot of the things that Anthony Christian Ocampo discussed that has resonated with me a lot. I'm a Filipino migrant who has......more

Goodreads review by Ethan on April 07, 2025

Fresh, balanced, and multifaceted. Reading through experiences that felt familiar to my own, Ocampo gave me new vocabulary. It’s not just about a deeper understanding of ourselves, but being equipped to tell that story to others.......more

Goodreads review by Hugo on June 04, 2024

Wow!! reading this I’ve never felt so validated in my experience. Made me feel good to know that I was not alone in my queer experience. A must read for those who seek to decenter whiteness from the queer experience.......more