In the big cities and metropolitan areas the world is harsh, cold and sometimes frightening. The LGBT youth who flee their homes for reasons such as abuse, being neglected, being ridiculed when they come out or being bullied at school or by family, take to the streets for their existance.
The street is harsh and unforgiving. There is not a lot of work for street youth if any and many times they are forced into certain acts just to find something to eat. Dumpster diving is one thing that is common or stealing from convenience stores and bodegas but that is not going to get you a good meal. Youth shelters maybe available but even those can be dangerous especially for trans youth, gay youth and girls who are targets for beatings and rape.
One of the things that happens oftentimes and there have been studies that look into this behavior is something called “survival sex.” It is sex for money in order to survive. Not all gay and trans teens in the industry actually want to be there. Some are forced into working as prostitutes be it a single time or often because of the promise of money. It can get you time off the street, a shower, cash in your pocket, food and even gifts if the john is a repeat customer.
The prevelence of survival sex is high and many homeless and runaway teens find that is the only thing that they can do to survive on the streets. Along with the sex sometimes comes drugs and if that takes you, chasing the high requires money in order to score further cycling the need to sell their bodies on the street.
Along with survival sex comes self esteem issues, and in some cases self hatred, rape and other sordid things. Some boys might find the feeling powerful to hook a john, and some transgirls might see their acceptance in their chosen gender as they try to be who they are. This is not an excuse. Sex for money can bring things other than cash, a nice dress or a high powered pair of sneakers as a present from a john.
The novel grydscaen: tribute focuses on the homeless kids Rom and Faid when he is younger. The 18 year old Faid gets his host card so he can work as a host off the street in front of The Hole x-rated magazine shop. Faid explains that it is his livelihood is the reason he ends up being a prostitute. Though Set an older kid also from the streets who befriends Faid warns him about the johns and to ensure to stay safe. In grydscaen the hosts are vaccinated against sexually transmitted diseases. In the real world HIV infection and STDs are sometimes part of the experience of LGBT youth that are caught up in survival sex.
We see Rom in grydscaen: tribute in the short story “A Storm’s Coming” get solicited on the street by a man but Rom opts out. Rom’s plight on the street is very different than Faid’s. Faid ends up using his money from sleeping with men on the street to get new clothes, food, a handheld and even drugs. Rom on the other hand is freezing, sleeps in a subway squat and has to steal water and scrounge around for food in the dumpster. The one act of survival sex for Faid puts him in a very much better position than Rom who draws the line at selling his body.
On the streets life is harsh. People do things to survive they wouldn’t do otherwise. There are services for homeless youth but they don’t reach everyone. More needs to be done.
The series grydscaen sheds light on this practice in a dystopian scifi world. More dialogue needs to be had around LGBT youth on the street, youth drug addiction and survival sex. The novel grydscaen: tribute is being used by a few counseling centers as an empowerment tool for trouble teens. That along with the manga version of “A Storm’s Coming” are tools to help youth self esteem and to bring hope as it describes life in the Echelons for Rom on the streets. I write grydscaen to give a voice to those who can’t. Support LGBT youth and homeless teens in their fight to be who they are and grow.
