MANHOOD, A GAY MAN'S STRUGGLE

Manhood is an aspiration. It is a lofty and admirable goal that not every male can see or recognize. The road to manhood bestows respect on the individual male from inside because manhood is measured by the degree of difficulty attempted and achieved. The conditions one faces in confronting the obstacles to survival, in terms of degree of difficulty, may change, making life easier or more difficult, but the end result will always be the same because there are only two options. One either meets the challenges and overcomes them and embraces a true manhood, or one seeks to avoid struggle and pain at any cost and becomes less. It is always as simple as that.

The road to manhood is, and should be, difficult. The struggles undertaken by homosexuals aspiring to manhood insure the development of an internalized control over one's appetites, an awareness of our and our enemies' cultural history, and a clear understanding that one's responsibility to the life and resources of his community takes precedence over all other callings. It requires inner strength and consciousness. Struggle is the foundation of the homosexual manhood, struggle hones us, it defines us, and it makes us men.