Hello, i am from Moscow

Base: Cafe Coming Out Forum
Re: A letter from the heart (Unknown)
Date: Fri, 05 Apr 1996 21:18:27 GMT
From: Unknown (shahid)

Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate your help. As I mentioned before I am a journalist and psychologist. I am also a professor of Moscow State University (MSU, the most respectable one here in Russia), where I lecture on journalist's psychology of creativeness. I have published several books. One of them was called "1001 question about THIS" ("THIS"="SEX"), 500 000 copies, more than 700 pages in hardcover.

There was a chapter describing gay and lesbian sexuality. After the book was published, I received a lot of replies on the topic. That made me start a new book on homosexuality. It will be great to publish it simultaneously in Russia and USA. I will be grateful if you help me to find a publisher in the United States who may be interested in this project.

I will also be glad to reņeive some ideas, thoughts, stories from homosexuals from different countries.

When did they find out (feel) their homosexuality? Did they have any problems (related with gender self-identification and/or sexual orientation) in childhood? What was their parent's point of view on their homosexuality? Did they discuss these matters? Were there any problems in school, college, etc.? Religion and homosexuality? When did they begin their sex activities? How? Who was their first partner? Why? How many contacts did they have? (There is a stereotype that homosexuals have more partners, than heterosexuals). Do they masturbate? How often? Have they ever tried to make love with a woman (for gays)? Have they ever perverted someone who was heterosexual? How did you feel after 5, 10, 20 years of your sexual life?

There is a plenty of other questions on the subject.

I will be grateful if you help me to get some related materials you think to be useful for my book.

What would you like to see in this book? What questions would you like to be covered? Is there any questions you want to be answered?

A few words about me. I am in high spirits. Sometimes I visit homosexual night clubs.

I know you are interested in am I a gay myself, or not? You may feel free to suppose that I am gay - I know much about problems with finding a partner, disappointments in love, inability to understand one another, etc.

I believe that a person may be interesting to the others regardless of his sexual orientation. You are agree with this, aren't you?

I will be glad to continue our dialogue and answer any of your questions. Unfortunately, my English is quite poor, so I asked some of my students to help me with translations. I have a lot of friends that help me a lot, and I am glad that you have become one of them. Thank you!

I will be glad to meet you here in Moscow. Please tell me if you are going to visit Russia in not too distant future.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Sincerely yours,

Vladimir Shahidjanjan

---------------------- My mailing address is:

        Vladimir V. Shahidjanjan
        Post Office Box 1001
        Moscow Russia
        Postal code 107014

        Phone: (7-095)-269-4180 

1. One gay man's answer... (Unknown)