UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM

Interview #1287
FUE VUE

FUE VUE
organized Eau Claire Pride 2003-2007

Interviewed: 	2012
Interviewer: 	Tiffany Schroeder
Index by: 	Kara Bissen
Length: 	1 hour, 2 minutes (total)
Series:		Eau Claire's LGBT Community, 1960s to present

Abstract: Fue Vue is a young, Gay Hmong man who grew up and lives in the LaCrosse Area. He speaks of balancing his Hmong identity and his Gay identity.  His parents are described as being traditional and unaccepting of his Gay identity.  He is seen as ruining his family's reputation and Gayness is seen as a disease.  He has strong support with his siblings and friends. Fue speaks of GALAXY, a youth program at the La Crosse LGBTQ Community Center. Although he does not identify as being active in the LGBTQ community, this interview provides a scan of LGBTQ life in La Crosse. 

Key Words: LaCrosse, Hmong, GALAXY, LaCrosse LGBTQ Community Center, LaCrosse Logan High School, 

Interview Session 1 (June 4, 2012): Digital File

Time	Keywords
00:00:00	Start of Interview/Interviewer’s Introduction. 

00:00:27	Question: Have you been at LaCrosse all of your life? Answer: Fue was born and raised in LaCrosse.

00:0:31	Question: How would you describe the community here? Answer: Its very separated, segregated into classes: lower class, middle class, higher class. Sticks with own communities or parties. LaCrosse is friendly called lovable respect but there are some areas in LaCrosse that can get a little uncomfortable. In conclusion, LaCrosse is a decent place to live.

00:01:12	Question: In what sense would you say it would get uncomfortable? Answer: Fue spoke of the uncomfortableness of some individuals aggressively asking for money.

00:01:42	Question: How would you describe the LGBTQ? Answer: Its very on the down low; although, there is a select few who are very open about it. There is the LGBT center here, LaCrosse, and Fue went there as a youth and it helped me get into his own skin .So the center helped a lot but the LGBT community, in general, you wouldn't really know unless they are the outspoken ones.

00:02:31	Question: How would you describe their, LaCrossians, attitude towards the LGBT community? Answer: Fue says the attitude is "you look but you don't say anything." He would know people were talking about him when he was holding his boyfriend's hand but also says that it is community so there is respect. Fue speaks of his experience at LaCrosse Pride. There was two people protesting but everyone else was fine.

00:03:30	Question: How long was Pride been in LaCrosse? What is it like? Answer:He doesn't know how long it has existed but has attended it twice. There is karaoke and is an accepting atmosphere.

00:04:03	Question: How is the turnout? Answer: Fue doesn't know how many attended but comments it was nice to see the community and it's allies. It is described as family.

00:04:19	Question:Can you expand on the Center? Answer: GALAXY is for 13-18 youth and Thursday night is drop in night for 21 plus. The center offers sex education and information about the community. 

00:05:04	Question: Where is the center located?  Answer: The center is on Third street.

00:05:44	Question: How long did you go to the center? Answer: Fue went to the center when he was ending high school. He stopped going because of personal reasons with other people who went to the center.

00:05:55	Question:Is the center welcoming to everybody?  Answer: Fue thinks it is beneficial to everyone who goes but personality clashes may keep people away. He describes the center as being PG-13 and if a person is looking for something different, they may be disappointed.

00:06:33	Question: When did you come out?  Answer: Fue came out to some of his friends his freshman year of college and eventually came out to all of his friends by his senior year. He came out to his family last year and he came out to his parents a week before the interview.

00:06:56	 Question: How was the process of coming out to your parents?  Answer: Fue described the experience as hurtful. He described his parents as traditional.  They accused him as sick and asked if he was on drugs. They said that all gay people go to jail. It hurt to hear that from his parents. They blame his mother's sickness on his sexuality. He has a first cousin who transitioned from male to female. His parents contribute her parents' sickness to her being a transexual.

00:09:21	Question: Have you seen your relationships change? Answer: It was easy because they have gay friends and the younger generation is more accepting.  

00:09:45	Question: How was coming out to your friends? Answer: It was easy. Fue first came out to a bisexual woman and told her he was gay too.

00:10:35	Question: Do you think your parents will become more understanding? Answer: Fue does not believe they will. His parents gave him five years to change but he is unwilling to lie to himself. He wishes that they wouldn't feel that way. 

00:11:2	Question: Who is your support system? Answer: His siblings are his support systems. After coming out to his parents, his sister called him because she was worried that he was going to commit suicide. He has had issues before with depression but was not considering suicide at that time.

00:12:23	Question:You mentioned you had times of depression. Is this connected to discomfort with your identity.  Answer:Fue thinks they are connected. When he was in the closet, he was straight acting. It was hard.

00:13:06	Question: When did you first start noticing you were attracted to men? Answer: Growing up, Fue says he was confused because he has had girl friends. In middle school he noticed he was attracted to the same sex.

00:14:06	Question: How was your school experience? Answer: It was accepting. Few people had a problem.  It wasn't that bad. 

00:14:45	Question: Did you have inclusive education? Answer: During school sex education was mostly about heterosexual sex. He went to the HIV institute with GALAXY and that was the first time he had homosexual sex education. It was a four day conference with youth from across the state. Fue says that some people went there "for the wrong reasons" like sex and drugs. He got a substantial HIV/AIDS education. Fue enjoyed the group there and learned a lot.

00:16:31	Question: What is GALAXY?  Answer: GALAXY is a youth group at the LGBT Resource Center that meets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. He joined GALAXY when he17 turning 18. 

00:17:09	Question: Did you receive a good education regarding HIV/AIDS? Answer: AIDS was mentioned quickly but not targeted in health class.

00:17:30	Question: Was there a GSA at your school?  Answer: There was not. A local school, nearby, Holmen, has one. There was not any organizations at the time.  

01:17:51	Question: You described your family as "traditional"--how so? Answer: His parents came from Thailand and Laos and he is the first generation. They think it is shameful to have a gay child. His parents are prominent in the Hmong community and think it is hurting their reputation that he is gay. Fue says this did not prevent him from coming out. He is out to his extended family and considers himself open.

00:19:41	Question: Can you speak about your transgender cousin? Answer: Her parents were not accepting. Fue described it as "World War Three." His cousin and her parents did not speak for months. Recently, his cousin brought her boyfriend and her mother like him a lot.

00:20:46	Question: Do you know of the trans* community in La Crosse? Answer: Fue does not know of anyone other than his cousin. He told us of an instructor at UW-LaCrosse  that transitioned but he does not attend UW-LaCrosse so he does not know much more about that. He feels like it is not very accepted in LaCrosse to be transgender.

00:22:24	Question: How has your relationship with your family and friends changed since coming out? Answer: Fue feels like it brought his family closer.  They communicate and bond more. He has some friends who are still in the closet and confine in him.  

00:23:35	Question: Is the LGBTQ community in La Crosse accepting of other ethnicities? Answer: I think it is very accepting but there is still some comments made.In general, the community is accepting of all ethnicities. 

01:24:17	Question: What other events are held in the area? Answer: There is a silent rally in October. There is a march on the bridge, holding signs. Fue has not participated in this event because it falls on the Hmong New Year.

00:25:21	Question: Do you feel a clash between your Hmong and Gay identity? Answer: Fue does feel like it does clash. There are elderly members of the Hmong community who look down on his sexuality.  He can see his parents reputation on the line but does not want to lie. He feels comfortable in the larger Hmong community. If he is with his friends he feels fine, he is only worried about being mugged.

00:26:33	Question: Have you heard of incidents of hate crimes? Answer: Fue has not heard of any violence. He has experienced being told that he cannot hang out with friends of friends because he is gay. He has never felt like he will get beat up but he sometimes thinks he will be verbally attacked.

00:28:09	Question: What are LGBTQ hang out spots in LaCrosse? Answer: Fue says people hang out at the coffee shops, the parks or the bluffs. There are also a few gay bars in La Crosse.

00:29:50	Question: Have you heard of the Pettibone Myth? Answer: People drive to Pettibone Beach parking lot across from Riverside Park and brake twice if they want sex. Fue does not know if this is true or common in the Gay community. 

00:31:05	Question: How have you seen reactions to you change? Answer: It is becoming more accepting but some people are not changing. Pride is getting stronger but Fue feels like people are coming to Pride for the wrong reason.  Fue stopped going to Pride because he did not feel safe going to Pride because multiple men approached him, asking for his number. He has pulled away from the LGBTQ community because he does not like this aspect of the community. He feels like he saw the dark side of the community that has provided him with so much support. He is made uncomfortable by these men and spends more of his time with women. 

00:34:30	Question: Are you aware of any LGBT instructors in high school or area schools.  Answer: Fue does not know about any teachers from high school. He knows of an instructor at Western Technical College. There was LGBTQ group at WTC but Fue could not attend meetings because of scheduling conflicts. People are accepting there. Because it is out of high school and a new scene, he thinks it helped him get more comfortable with himself. Now that he can say it in a crowd and to his parents, he feels like he is more comfortable with himself.

Interview Session 2 (June, 2012): Digital File

Time	Keywords
00:00:00	Start of Interview/Interviewer’s Introduction

00:00:15	Question: Now that you have withdrawn, as you say, from the LGBTQ community, how do you meet people? Answer: Fue has friends in the Twin Cities so he makes friends there. He can find people who are not after sex. He goes out dancing in the Cities. He does not necessarily feel more comfortable going out in the Twin Cities than he does in LaCrosse.

00:02:38	Question: Do you think that it is more common for Gay people than Straight people to hook up with people?  Answer: He does not know how to answer that.  It is hard to say if there is a difference between Gay and Straight culture because the two are so integrated.

00:04:55	Question: What do you feel about politics in Wisconsin about LGBTQ issues?  Answer: Fue is not into politics because he thinks it is ridiculous that there is still debate over civil rights. 

00:05: 41	Question: What would you like to see change for the gay community? Answer: He would like to see more people out and not afraid.  

00:06:39	Question: Would people come out earlier if they lived in the Twin Cities? Answer: Fue does not think so because everyone has their struggles. He says a common struggle is disappointment and disappointing their family. 

00:07:38	Questions: How is coming out as Hmong differ than coming out as White? Answer: Fue thinks it depends on their religion. He has friends that struggle with family members because their family is Christian. 

00:10:01	Question: Does the straight community in LaCrosse support the Gay community? Answer: Fue believes that it is supportive. UW- LaCrosse had a drag show and raised thousands of dollars for the Community Center and there was a lot of allies in attendance. 

00:10:22	Question: Was there a Day of Silence in your  high school? Was the LGBTQ community addressed in high school? How did that affect coming out? Answer: There was no Day of Silence. Fue describes high school being close to "don't kiss, don't tell." He thinks it would have been better if there was more visible support for students who want to come out. The counselors were not very supportive.

00:12:31	Question: How would you like to see Logan change? Answer: They should treat everybody the same. Fue says that they roll their eyes at the gay kids. 

00:13:05	Question: Do you want to stay in LaCrosse your whole life? Answer: Fue has a love, hate relationship with LaCrosse. He has considered moving to the Twin Cities because it is more accepting but it is also more dangerous. 

00:14:40	Question: Do you feel like the Gay community is more likely to be target for crimes? Answer: Not at all times but often because Gay people are perceived to be more vulnerable.

00:16:02	Question: Would you like to speak more about being Gay and Hmong? Answer: Fue grew up in a traditional Hmong family. Being Gay is considered wrong. His mother told him that he would rather have a son that robs than be gay. Being Hmong is already a minority group and being gay is "a cherry on top."

00:17:51	Question: How does that impact you potentially having a family? Answer: There are so many ways to have children now without having a wife. His parents raised the issue of him not being able to have children. 

00:18:55	Question: Do you feel like you have more of a struggle being Hmong and Gay? Answer: His friend who is also Hmong and Gay had a witch doctor brought in to "fix his gayness." Being gay is seen as a disease. 

00:19:35	Question: You said that there are many transgender people in Thailand. What is your parents view? Answer: To Fue's family, being transgender is seen as worse than being Gay. His mother thinks he is going to transition to being a woman. 

00:21:16	Question: Do you think things would be different if your parents were born in the United States? Answer: If they were born here, it would be a whole different environment. Accepting will still be difficult because they would still be traditional because they were raised in a traditional family. 

00:22:01	Question: Do you feel like you have to leave Hmong culture to be Gay?  Answer: Fue does not believe so because he has "married" the two.  There are some things he accepts of his culture and with some areas he has different views. 

00:23:30	Question: Were there any language difficulties in coming out? Answer: When coming out to his parents, Fue had to switch between English and Hmong when trying to explain himself to his parents. It made communication more difficult. 

02:15:31	End of Interview Session

End of Oral History #1002