The month of June sees LGBT Pride celebrations in cities in many parts of the world. Most are timed around the anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1969, when patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar, fought back against a police raid and ushered in the modern gay rights movement. But there are parts of the world in which it is still difficult or even dangerous to be openly anything but straight. The three people in this post have come out in societies where attitudes are becoming more tolerant, but where acceptance is minimal. Three photographers share the stories: Aly Song tells the story of Xiao Cao, a performer in Shanghai, Adnan Abidi tells the story of Seema, a prostitute in New Delhi, and Tobin Jones tells the story of Morine, a hairdresser in Nairobi. Next week, I'll look at LGBT Pride celebrations worldwide. -- Lane Turner (33 photos total)
Xiao Cao, a 57-year-old gay man, salutes as he performs as a Cultural Revolution Red Guard at a park in Shanghai on March 13, 2012. China's gay community has long been on the edges of society but it is gradually becoming more accepted. Unemployed Cao is one whose life lifts the curtain on a less romanticized view of Chinese homosexuals. Living in an eight-square-meter apartment behind a public toilet and with a monthly income of 500 yuan ($79) from social insurance, he passes his days dancing in public and spending time with friends at gay clubs. (Aly Song/Reuters)
Seema, 33, poses inside a local non-governmental organization office which supports sexual minorities, in New Delhi on May 14, 2012. Seema is transgender, one of hundreds of thousands in conservative India who are ostracized, often abused, and forced into prostitution due to no legal recognition, even as the world marked International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters) #
While Western society may have become much more tolerant of people's sexuality in recent years, most of Africa is still largely not accepting of anyone who does not conform to the more traditional roles of sexuality. Homosexuality is still illegal in most African countries. Tolerant governments, however, have allowed some gay communities to flourish in some cities. Transgender Morine lives in Nairobi, Kenya. (Tobin Jones) #
Rare are those who identify themselves as transgender. Morine is still identified by the Kenyan government as a male, though from a very early age has always identified herself as a female. [NOTE: This image has been digitally altered by the photographer to protect the subject's privacy. Photographs in The Big Picture are not digitally altered without notification.] (Tobin Jones) #
Unlike some countries such as India, Kenya has no history of transgenders. As a result everything from how society sees them, to how they identify as a community, is all new territory. Here Morine applies hair removal cream to her face in order to remove facial hair without having to shave. (Tobin Jones) #
