News
2006-01-19
Young LGBT San
Franciscans want answers from LeRoy
The group
is demanding an apology from JT LeRoy, the supposed gay
writer whose identity has been called into question.
A group of young
LGBT San Franciscans—backed by the city’s gay
and lesbian center—has demanded answers and
apologies from JT LeRoy, the queer writer whose
identity as a young HIV-positive former prostitute has
recently been called into question.
As the author of well-received novels and short
stories about drug-addled street life, LeRoy claimed
in media interviews that he was speaking from
experience as a former hustler in the Bay Area.
Following stories in The New York Times and
New York magazine that accused the reclusive
writer of actually being a middle-aged woman, the San
Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
Community Center issued a statement saying its young
members were “appalled” by LeRoy’s
alleged deception.
The group took offense at the fact that LeRoy
was frequently assisted financially by celebrities and
noted writers, especially after he publicly announced
he was HIV-positive.
“We expect an apology, not simply for
defrauding the public into giving money to someone who
they believed to be young, struggling, and gravely
ill, but for repeatedly defaming our community, both in
articles and interviews, referring to other street
youth as 'sharks' and to himself as a
'dolphin,'” the statement read. “JT LeRoy
promoted himself as having been pulled like a diamond
from the rough. He claimed to have been discovered and
encouraged as a writer by a therapist from social
services, and thus rescued from homelessness. In reality,
this does not happen, no such programs are in place.”
Most recently, LeRoy, who appears in a wig and
sunglasses in public, told The New York Times
through his lawyer, “As a transgender human,
subject to attacks, I use stand-ins to protect my identity."
Whether LeRoy is gay, female, transgender, or
just make-believe, the LGBT youths of San Francisco
feel duped. “Stealing our voices and using our
pain for your profit is inexcusable,” read their
statement. “You thought we had no voice. Here
is our voice.” (Advocate.com)
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