Sepp's story comes from a country often regarded as one of Europe's most open-minded when it comes to LGBT rights. The father eventually accepted his son's choice and the two reconciled. But again, I knew that loving someone of the same sex could not be something wrong at all," Sepp told DW. Much worse was my father's yelling and making clear that I, as his son, would always be welcome, but the day I'd bring my boyfriend he wouldn't be allowed in the house. "When I came out to him, he started to yell at me. This is what happened to Sepp, a German man who was out of touch with his father for eight years after coming out. Also, I have friends in Belgium who were rejected by their families for being gay," Miguel says. "I have heard of recent attacks on gay people in the streets of Madrid, where one would think that society is more open. Miguel, a Spanish rugby player living in Brussels who volunteered to be photographed for the project, agrees that even if things "look good on paper, discrimination is everywhere." Read more: Renewed hope for gay rights in India "It's harder to change mentalities than laws, even in more secular states," says Capudean. Like in Romania, Poland's constitution bans both same-sex civil unions and marriage.īut intolerant attitudes towards sexual minorities are not restricted to the "younger" EU member states. In Poland and Hungary, the Catholic Church and national-conservative politicians have been fuelling a backlash against gay rights in recent years. The goal of this initiative is that the constitution should define family as "the union between a man and a woman."
GAY MEN NAKED CODE
Romania's Civil Code bans same-sex marriages and civil partnerships, but currently the constitution defines marriage as "the union between spouses," which leaves room for interpretation. There is also a connection between religion and homophobia in central and southeastern Europe. In Romania, the "Coalition for the Family," a group strongly backed by the Orthodox Church, has gathered 3 million signatures seeking to change the definition of family in the country's constitution through a referendum. But I kept my calm, since this type of behavior often leads to violence." Suddenly, behind me I heard: 'Gay! Gay!' I could have told him lots of things. He tells his story of being scolded out of the blue in a supermarket: "We were going to the movies, so we bought two bottles of water, some snacks and a chocolate … and we were queuing, waiting to pay. One of them was a man who goes by D., an actor, dancer and director from Bucharest. Capudean did not even have to search for his subjects, since every one of them contacted the photographer after he had posted his project idea on social media. In particular, the need to be seen as any other man has motivated so many of them to get naked in front of the lens.
Read more: Homophobia in Russia: 'I thought my daughter was a monster' "It didn't come as a surprise to me that for many of the portrayed men it has been harder to share their story than to undress in front of the camera," says the artist. And there are at least 200 examples of it in Capudean's photographic series. Although LGBT rights are protected by EU laws, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are still prone to discrimination and harassment everywhere in Europe, but especially in some central and southeastern European countries. "I want to help those who are not part of the LGBT community understand us, I want to give a face to those whom the homophobes hate without even knowing them," Capudean tells DW.Įach man photographed by Capudean tells a personal story about discrimination for being gay or bisexual. The artist has taken black and white pictures of more than 200 nude gay and bisexual men from different countries around the world and from a wide range of professions: medical doctors, biochemists, shop attendants, lawyers, tailors, students and engineers.
His new project "Naked" is meant to give more visibility to the LGBT community. The Romanian photographer and LGBT activist Tiberiu Capudean believes that hatred and fear are fueled by ignorance. About half of the population of Poland (52 percent), Romania (54 percent), Hungary (44 percent) and more than one-third of Bulgaria (36 percent) would not grant equal rights to LGBT people, according to a 2015 Eurobarometer survey on discrimination in Europe. In some European countries, living openly as a homosexual requires a lot of courage. Holding hands with your partner as gay men in the streets of Warsaw, Budapest or Bucharest is likely to attract at least a few disapproving looks.