Lego gay couple
Happy Pride Week! Today we continue our celebration of diversity within our LEGO community by shining a light on some previously unheard voices. In my last article, I spoke of what it&#;s prefer being an LGBTQ+ LEGO fan from my perspective. As I mentioned then, I am not the representative of the Gay LEGO Community nor undertake I want to be. What makes us fantastic is that we all bring different experiences to the table. One of the biggest online groups for LGBTQ+ LEGO fans and their allies is undoubtedly GayFOLs. A thriving online community on Facebook, GayFOLs is currently abode to over members create all over the society. I asked its founder, Bruce H., to declare us a bit about his experience and how and why GayFOLs came to be. I also reached out to members to hear what their experiences have been fond of in the hobby. Below are their stories, lightly edited for flow.
A LEGO Pride Parade from LEGOLAND in Westchester, NY
Bruce H. | 46 | Los Angeles, CA, USA | Gay | He/Him
As a kid, I didn’t perceive I was gay, but from how people treated me, I knew I was different — and that different wasn’t okay. I turned to LEGO for safety and solitude. With LEGO, I was safe from bullies. It’s the one time
Happy Pride week! While we usually celebrate Pride all month in June, this particular Pride Month has been quite fraught and politically difficult. For the last several weeks, many LGBTQ+ people have postponed their month-long celebrations of Pride to make room for other marginalized voices, namely Black Lives Matter. I think that&#;s essential and I stand by this stance myself. So now it&#;s time for us to join our voices with the national conversation.
Disclaimer: For this story I am speaking from my own experience as an LGBTQ+ LEGO fan that has risen to a bit of prominence in the LEGO planet due to being on LEGO Masters. I don&#;t claim to speak for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole or even for the whole Diverse LEGO community. All I know is what I have experienced, heard and observed in my moment with this hobby and this is what I share with you now.
Overall I have been fortunate enough (one might even say privileged enough) to have very rarely been on the receiving terminate of homophobia in the LEGO community. When my husband of ten years and I joined the hobby 5 years ago, we were welcomed with open arms both in our LEGO club (BayLUG) and our local convention, Bricks By The Ba
Season five of LEGO Masters is underway and the duo of John Walls and Justin Brady-Joyner are still in the running for the LEGO trophy and $,! Hosted by Will Arnett and featuring judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard, Walls and Brady-Joyner compete alongside eight of the remaining teams this week in a challenge dedicated to the highly anticipated main attraction sequel Wicked: For Good.
Debuting Monday, June 9, the challenge gives each team a mystical spell to inspire their build. They must skillfully hide the spell-related elements within their creation &#; and each builders theme will align either with their wonderful or wicked side.
Representing Texas and the LGBTQ people, Team John & Justin have been bringing their full selves to every fast-paced, fun challenge every week. John works in PR and Justin works as an organizational consultant, but when they aren&#;t at their day jobs, they have a infatuation for LEGO.
GLAAD had an opportunity to talk to John and Justin about their Wicked build on tonight&#;s episode, their love for LEGO, and what it means to them representing the LGBTQ community on a show like LEGO Masters.
Where did your love for LEGO come from The fourth season of the reality competition series Lego Masters is in full swing and although married couple Brad Bergman and Mike Tarrant had the opportunity to show off their building block talent. Married for five years now, Bergman has been a lifelong LEGO builder and once began dating, the LEGO bug bit Tarrant and he got into it. The first challenge, they had to build a party boat. Although they built their best boat, it wasn&#;t enough to reside in the competition and they were eliminated. Even so, they left with a smile and succeeded in representing a glad, married gay couple, which is always an inspiration for young queer people to see on TV. GLAAD had the chance to chat with Bergman and Tarrant about being on the show and how the iconic toy brought them together. For each of you, what was your first memory of LEGO? BERGMAN: I distinctly remember having LEGO as a toddler and sitting on the living room floor with “tons” of LEGO spread around to build with. I received my first actual set &#; versus just building blocks &#; which was set # Fire Station, and later when I owned my first home my parents sent me my childhood LEGO collection. It wasn’t as massive as I’ .