Some gay men are like, oh no, I don’t want to catch it. “I’m fearful about what someone might say. Even with something as invisible as the HIV virus, Fred said he’s felt the cold shoulder from other gay men. I’ve had people within the LGBT community stare at me as I walk down the street,” said Fred.Įven though he’s embraced and accepted his disability, he tries to hide it by changing the way he dresses when he goes out in public so it won’t be noticed nearly as much. For decades, clean-cut, muscular Caucasian men have become the dominant image of what gay men look like in mainstream media, even though diversity is the focus at most Pride celebrations annually and gay men who don’t fit that image find themselves on the outside.īecause his disability causes Fred to walk with a slight limp and he takes retrovirals everyday for the HIV virus, he said he faces discrimination in his social, romantic and everyday lives. That’s because Fred believes he isn’t what most people consider to be the stereotypical gay male. “It isn’t easy being a gay man with a disability in New York City.” “I was born with cerebral palsy and I’m HIV-positive,” he said. But there is something that always makes him a little nervous before every first date. Meeting in person, though, is an ultimate goal. Talking to guys on the internet, he said, is easy, because it allows you to build up a persona and chat comfortably without any pressure. “But now I actually meet guys a lot of the time online.” I’ve met guys talking on the phone,” said Fred, who’s a proud Puerto Rican-Italian. After speaking on the phone for about a week, they agreed to their first face-to-face meeting over the weekend. He was excited – the two met on an online dating site. Settling back into his sofa, he rested a leg on the seat, ready to open up about his upcoming date. His eyes squint when he laughs, an infectious sound that echoes through the living room of his modest apartment in Jamaica, Queens. He’s got a very youthful face and it’s hard to believe he’s 29 years old.
There’s an almost schoolboy like charm to Danny Fred. Danny Fred, 29, says he can’t fit into the mold of the stereotypical gay male presented on the front cover.