Published: 19 June 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
GROWING UP, Arya Marvazy knew only of one person who came out as queer in his tight-knit Persian Jewish community. That person was ostracized by family members. He frequently heard homophobic jokes and comments, including by peers, relatives at Shabbat dinner and — one time that seared into his memory — the rabbi of his synagogue.
So when Marvazy realized he was gay in sixth grade he felt “completely and utterly alone.”
“I really did believe, if I’m being honest, that I could not come out and live a functional life amongst friends and family and community as a Persian Jewish person,” he said.
But things looked different when Marvazy shared his coming-out story in March to some 100 people at the West Hollywood City Council chambers. The attendees had come together to celebrate the fifth annual Persian Pride Month, an initiative that Marvazy leads for the Jewish LGBTQ group JQ International.
At the event, Marvazy’s mother was one of several parents who shared their road to accepting their children. Marvazy, 33, moderated a panel consisting of an eclectic group of community members — a man decked out in drag spoke of his experience coming out as gay and experimenting with gender boundaries, while a middle-aged woman talked about how she handled her child coming out as transgender.
The audience applauded loudly as people shared coming-out stories, while everyone sat in silence as a therapist read a letter from a mother whose gay son committed suicide.
FULL STORY Persian Jews are coming out of the closet and breaking down long-held taboos in their community (JTA)
Inside Elat Market: The grocery store at the nexus of Los Angeles’ Persian Jewish community (JTA)
Photo: Arya Marvazy marching at the 2019 Los Angeles Pride Parade. (Anna Falzetta)
