Lucia, 22

What do you do?
I make coffee and sandwiches at Darwin's, a café.

Has your job gotten you any dates?
Let me think... no, not really.

Not really?
Well, I guess if I hadn't started at Darwin's, I wouldn't have gone out with my boss' friend.

What happened with him?
We just went out once. We slept together and that's all it was good for.

How'd you know?
We fucked in a bathroom. He just wasn't up to my standards. I like someone who can carry a conversation. I don't want to talk to someone stupid.

Where did you fuck in the bathroom?
Actually, it was the bathroom of Zuzu's. At the Darwin's Christmas party.

Do you date men or women or... ?
I just date men.

If you could generalize wildly about the men in Boston, what would you say?
They should loosen up.

Are you from here?
No, I'm from New Hampshire.

Are the dudes different here than there?
Yes. The mentality is different. It's hard to describe. The guys down here party a lot more. They're dirtier here... like, they don't shower.

What do you look for in a guy?
A sense of humor. That's number one. Make me laugh. Be respectful. Have goals. Be proactive. And be a family man. I don't think I could go out with a guy who doesn't get along with his family. That's important to me.

Have you heard the saying that you shouldn't marry a man who doesn't love his mother?
No, but I've heard you can tell how a man will treat you based on how he treats his mother. And I think it's completely true.

 

Richard, 24

How long have you been living in Boston?
About four months.

Where did you move from?
My nationality is Indonesian, but I went to Singapore when I was twelve, and from there I went to Malaysia, and then from there I went to Boston.

What do you do?
I'm a student at Berklee. I'm majoring in music education.

Have you gotten any dates through school?
No, this is just my fourth month. I don't really know people here. People are very friendly but I have so much work to do that most of the time I just stay in my room! I go out sometimes, though, to visit friends and practice.

What instrument do you play?
Guitar.

Can you look at other musicians and tell what instrument they play?
Sort of.

Are you more or less compatible with certain musicians?
I guess so. I like other guitarists — you get inspiration from them and learn from them. And I like pianists because they can play almost everything.

Have you gone on any dates in Boston?
No, I'm attached to someone from my country — well, she's Indonesian but I know her from Singapore, and currently she's living in Berkeley — as in UC Berkeley — as a transfer student.

How did you get together?
I met her in school — she was my classmate. Once I was in college, I contacted her and she replied and we got together and we did stuff. Then I asked her out and she refused. And I thought, well, I have to try again. That's my personality. I'm like, I have to try until she says yes.

How is it to be an attached person here?
It's very difficult. A lot of temptation. But I can manage — I hope.

Make a wild generalization about the women in Boston.
Good-looking? This is kind of the first time I've lived in a Western country. I'm not really used to the people here, so whoever I look at, I think they're good-looking.

Really? I'd expect it to be the opposite — that you wouldn't be used the way people look and would think they're all ugly.
[laughs] Maybe. But I guess you guys got good genes.

All of us?
Yeah, I guess so.

 

Meff, 27

What do you do for a living?
I'm in a band. I play mandolin and guitar and I'm also the drag king of the band. It's called Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys.

How did you meet your current lover?
I met her at a show. She was like "Who's that drag king?" We were really compatible and had a lot in common. We hooked up after TraniWreck, this amazing queer event. TraniWreck will get you laid.

How is the queer scene here?
The queer scene here is kinda stuck. The whole gay-marriage thing has people like, "Let's have a little dog and a RAV4." I lived in New York for a while and people were much more just like, "Let's rock out with our cocks out."

Why'd you move back to Boston?
In New York, I lost my job and broke up with my partner, so I moved into a group house here in Boston, full of artists and musicians and programmers. New York was really queer-friendly, and also friendlier to biracial couples. Here I feel like it's so segregated that it's still an issue — people will still stare at a biracial couple. They think they're so liberal and open, but they're not. But Boston is cool because you'll meet someone who's a heavy-metal musician — and a scientist. The cerebral aspect gets in the way sometimes, too, though. Sometimes you just want to think with your gut, your pants, your lower chakras. And I'm a huge bottom, so I want someone to take charge. There are all these girls here who took a gender-studies class and now think they're bi because they think Eva Mendes is hot. I'm like, "That doesn't make you bi. That makes you human."

Have you met a bunch of lovers through your job?
Being a performer, I meet a lot of people. But I don't want to be a performer on dates — I don't want to be with someone who expects me to be always on and funny. I'm a nerd at heart.

What's the craziest place you've had sex?
In my lover's bedroom while the commuter rail was driving by and there were people just outside her window standing on the platform. Still, it was easier to get crazy in New York — it's bigger, there are more places to have sex accessible by public transportation, and New Yorkers see so many people every day that they just don't give a shit.

Photography and interviews by Jane Roman.