HJALMAR
“I spent a lot of time on YouTube searching for videos about homosexuality when I was ready to come out. I found a few guys who had made videos about coming out, but there weren’t many people talking about it. When I turned 18, I decided to do something about it. I didn’t want anyone to feel as lonely as I did at 15, so I made the videos I wanted to see when I was younger. The first video was my coming out story. I thought it might help other people, but it became a much bigger thing than I ever expected. I still get daily messages from teenagers who say my videos have helped them feel more themselves. I’ve been doing these videos for four years now and I talk about things like falling in love, sex, STI testing and coming out. Sometimes I get angry messages. They usually say I’m a fag with blue hair. About ninety-five percent of the comments I receive are very sweet and positive. They give me a lot of energy and motivation to keep doing this.”
“I think people would have different attitudes toward gay people if they learned about it from a young age in school.”
“Home is any place where you can be yourself.”
“If I don’t stand up for myself, who will?”