Ken Takeuchi

Last Login 12/03/11

• New York, NY
• Has not backed any projects
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Connected as Kenichiro Takeuchi (354 friends)

Having known I was gay while growing up in Japan in the 70’s, I was already aware that homosexuality was more accepted in the U.S. Idolizing White Hollywood stars like millions of queer Asians, I hatched my secret plan of becoming a foreign exchange student to the U.S., in search of my dream husband who was White, blonde, and blue.

Successfully convincing my parents, I was accepted into an exchange program in 1987. However, it was not going to be easy. First, the program enrolled me in a Catholic high school in Michigan, where I could absolutely not come out. Second, it was simply a torture being surrounded by beautiful White boys everyday. 4 years later, I finally came out to my college friends in Boston. But after a few bad relationships, I’ve fallen into a serious depression. I was struggling with not only my sexual identity, but also a racial one where I felt I could never be seen as attractive or desirable by White gay men.

When I discovered a peer-support organization, Boston Alliance of Gay & Lesbian Youth (BAGLY), I dived right into it. Listening to other queer youths of all colors sharing the same experience was not only enlightening, but also empowering. At BAGLY, it was also a tremendous shock and eye-opening experience when my best friend who was African American told me that being Asian in the U.S. meant I was considered “colored”. I was blind to my racial identity as an Asian, and had subconsciously erased my ethnic heritage in order to fit in and survive.

Upon graduation, I moved to New York where I found a job as an audio engineer in 1994. Although it was exciting and rewarding to live and work in NYC, my visa had expired and I was effectively stuck in the U.S. Adding to the stress of pressures at work, I was always in fear of being caught and deported. But living in NYC, I could also meet many other queer Asians and hear their stories of struggles. Slowly gaining my experience in video production, I was confident that I could someday document their stories and share our unique voice.

In 2000, my luck turned for the better. Thanks to the new provision of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act, I was able to apply for adjustment of my status without leaving the country. After 5 years of intense paperwork, I finally received my permanent resident status in 2005. That’s when I began making a documentary on queer Asians in NYC.

In the years that followed, I’ve been volunteering as a steering committee member for Gay Asian & Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY), one of the largest and most active queer Asian non-profit organizations in the U.S. Being on the cutting edge of social justice movement, I was not only able to gain understanding of complex layers of issues that queer Asians face in the U.S., but also meet people who are passionate about their cause.

The most important objective for this documentary is to ensure that our true stories and real voices are heard, in order to shed light upon the invisible community that is both thriving, yet most at risk. By following a day in a life of a gay Asian go-go dancer, the film will highlight the dangers of underground sex workers and their lack of HIV/AIDS awareness. By following queer South Asian immigrants, it will build a case on how the current U.S. immigration policy and Patriot Act continue to take away their civil rights. Weaving these personal stories with interviews from activists, experts and scholars in the field, the film will paint a clear picture of the gestalt of our collective lives in NYC, as well as why queer Asian community needs better understanding, visibility and support from general public. Now more than ever, it is imperative to raise our voices, where the issues of sexual minority intersect ethnic minority, so that queer Asians living in isolation can realize that it is beautiful to be queer and Asian.

Ken Takeuchi