February 23, 2011

Emilio

Emilio, age 8
Dominican Republic, (1998)

This is me geared up in my "Little Mermaid" pool accessories, ready for the summer. My obsession with mermaids began way earlier, when I was about 3-years old. My mom and I watched "Splash," and after that, I was obsessed.

 When Disney released "The Little Mermaid,"
I met my first love - the handsome Prince Eric. To this day, he is still the only man I've ever loved.

It took me years to figure out why I loved mermaids, but hated Ariel so much.

Well, it was because she stole my man! :)


But I didn't realize what those feelings meant, because I didn’t know I was attracted to him. I didn't know I was gay until a bit later, at around age 13.
That's when I finally understood my feelings, and what it meant to be gay.

I always heard about the 'evil homosexuals' from my family, but I never associated that with people who loved others of their same sex. I just thought they were bad people whom I was supposed to stay away from.

I was always the odd kid in the back, who never played sports and never fit in.
I was never teased about being a little feminine though (which I was), but I was teased for being the shortest in my class. Which meant I didn't have a lot of friends or to want to be around my classmates.

I always loved drawing, and you'd usually find me under a table somewhere, drawing mermaids. But over time, mermaid tails became landscapes, and landscapes became buildings.

Today I cant help but smile when I look at that picture, as it reminds me that I've always been myself, and never wanted to hide it from anyone. Now, I'm close to graduating from architecture school, and I have a lot of great friends. And those friends came along right after I figured out who I was.

I'm very happy, though some things never change: I still draw the occasional mermaid, and still think that b*tch Ariel stole my man!

Emilio's first, famous-person same sex crush:
Prince Eric ("The Little Mermaid")
_________________________________________________
Disney Little Mermaid Ariel Prince Eric, 4" Figure Doll Toy, Cake Topper The Little Mermaid (Fully Restored Special Edition) (Disney's Masterpiece) [VHS] Architect's Drawings: A selection of sketches by world famous architects through history Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles 

3 comments:

Hipstercrite said...

oh my gosh! i had to do a double take on the picture. you look like an adorable tiny version of our president swimming with ariel.

Emijomo89 said...

^I do? xD thanks i guess.. :P

Sarah Snarky said...

If it makes you feel any better, in the original she dies in the end and the evil witch person gets the prince. Disney really knows how to screw with a good story. :-D