While hanging with LA gays. (JR saved me) I ended up in Long Beach where I had a discussion with other gays about the GAM4GAM (Gay Asian male 4 Gay Asian Male) Experience.
This is for my generation of gays. There was no downelink, but rather there was findapix (a website that enabled you to make a profile... a very limited profile and then folks rated you) and the term "downe" was becoming popular. Findapix was pre-myspace/frendster... findapix was very self indulgent. Findapix was the beginning of angled shots and good lighting.
I think this was my findapix "picture"
The emerging popularity of the internet during the late 1990's, early 2000's gave an outlet for tech savvy Asians to experience their interest in a subculture: gay and AZN PRIDEZ. (While trying to download music off Napster, Kazaa, Morpheous.. whatever)
Ah yes.. remember these AZN cartoons that reinforced the fashion and hairstyles?
That's how we "identified each other." By simply putting ~~**~***downe***~**~~ in our findapix profile, in our xanga, in our angelfire/geocities webpage.. we were able to meet others who we could identify with. And maintain a sort of secret society.
==
With AOL Chatrooms came:
a/s/l ?
16/M- Viet/ San Jose. Hi's were unnessessary. Info first.
and then you would have to type it again because it would get lost in the chatroom.
ROLL CALL!
These chatrooms would get full and folks would keep pressing the ENTER button because there was a number cap. Hopefully, someone would leave and they could join.
Our screen names were ethnically prideful and very symmetrical.... and apparently Angels and Dragons were our favorite creatures. .. And I think there was something wrong with the shift key
xoxAZNange1Babyxox
PiNoYFiRe84
lilVietbOilil
DrGn4Eva310
And with our doors closed and our mommies making dinner we discretely had conversations with Gay strangers from random parts of the US. There were those who were discrete and had nothing in their AIM profile. Others had all the information you needed.
We were eager to give out our phone numbers, but hesitant to make calls because we didn't want those numbers to appear on the phone record. "You sound cute.. let's talk on the phone." And we would freak out when our parents noticed that strange area code.
For those who took risks... phone sex was involved. (Let me remind you there were no webcams.)
With 56K, we were excited about the speed:
Be right back, my parents need to use the phone... this was an understanding and those who had two lines were very privelidged.
And with new computers we were capable of flirting confidently:
This is for you: @~~}~~~ 143
143 (I Love You in pager code... not 413 because I'm a FOB)
We were the generation between pager code and LOL.
==
I wonder if any of my readers in their mid 20s to late 20s know what I'm talking about.
I'm sure you remember Sandstorm:
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
GAM4GAM Generation
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Yeah, I know what you're talking about. First line of chat was always a/s/l. If you didn't answer, you weren't worth talking to. And despite the fact that DSL and cell phones were around since the beginning of my middle school, I never got either until college. And the phone records? "You have to call me." My nickname then (in XY chat if you know that) was AznBoi if I remember correctly, which was mostly taken as....
Arizona Boy (vs Asian Boy)
OMG! straight down memory lane! sigh
LMAO.
WOW! I totally remember this but I didn't know that the downe subculture was in existence! How enlightening. I think I was in 6th grade and middle school when all this was going on, but even at that age, a lot of my fellow peers were catching on with the aZn PrIdE. Oh the memories... O_o
hahaha omg i remember those images.
all that "aZNpRiDeEee" bs was always so damn lame.
Oh dear. I'd nearly succeeded in forgetting AOL's chat rooms.
On an unrelated note, my parents still call any sort of online communication that is not email a "chat room."
I was too concerned with being a "1337 h4x0r" than finding a boyfriend at the time.
Anyone remember IRC on EFnet and undernet? #Illuminati? This was around the same time that I was reading 2600 Magazine...
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hahaha i remember my gam4gam sn for aim. dont forget the xX___Xx folks. we liked "x" as well.
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