Confessions of a Gay, Disabled Artist
- Julio Rocha
- Oct 29, 2023
- 4 min read
The Gay, Disabled, Latine Artist
Reading through Brandon Vera’s multiple social media profiles, you’ll find his bios describe him as an “indie latine singer” whose Tik Tok and Instagram pages display a curated collection of confessions from “a Gay, Disabled, Latino Man.” Brandon’s content can be described as an amalgamation of several of his marginal stressors which he routinely shares about with his audience. Most prominently, Brandon’s “confessions” focus on his struggles in the gay dating scene as a disabled man. Brandon was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) but says that while he may face some challenges, like finding unique ways to put on his clothes, he’s self-sufficient and independent. AMC can be “characterized by multiple joint contractures (stiffness) and involves muscle weakness found throughout the body.”
The 29-year-old, who performs under the name Brndn Dyln, is also a verified artist on Spotify. His artist bio on the music streaming site calls attention to the remarkable fact that he is “the first disabled, gay, Latino singer-songwriter in Virginia to enter the alternative reggaeton music scene.” Brandon explains that his love for music began as a kid singing karaoke with his sister and dad. Interestingly, Brandon learned to read lyrics during Karaoke first before he was introduced to children’s books.
Gay and Christian
His love for music followed him into his college years when he joined an acapella group at a Christian university. Brandon was raised Catholic but says that he no longer holds such a strict attachment to the faith. The young artist explains, “I had a really not horrible experience with coming out to my family, but going to a Christian university, that was a little bit difficult.” He says that after it was discovered he’d been living openly gay in his personal life, the dynamics of the group shifted. Ultimately, he felt it was in his best interest to leave the acapella group on campus. He understood that his queerness did not align with the values of the institution. Brandon describes this incident as the most challenging outcome of his coming out experience.
The Second Coming Out
When Brandon first began his search for love he described experiencing a “second coming out” in which he had to disclose to the men he was talking to that he lived with a condition. Now, to filter out the bad seeds, he discloses his disability status openly on sites like Tinder and other social dating platforms. Apart from interacting with the less evolved, vain person who couldn’t see past his disability, Brandon described experiences tied to his disability that felt awkward and outright inappropriate: “I think it’s a power-play dynamic. Interestingly no one has ever said it outright, like, ‘Oh. I like you because you’re disabled.’ I think it’s just disguised in their intentions.” Brandon is alluding to non-consensual interactions with folks who have a disability fetish, where “instead of understanding a person as a whole, complicated individual, they are defined by their disability.” Even through Instagram or Tik Tok direct messages, Brandon says creeps have offered to fly out to Virginia just to meet him. He explains, “maybe they are more dominant or want to be a caregiver but I’m looking for my equal.”
Brandon captured during the initial stages of his creative process.
The Influencer & Artist
Aside from the occasional odd encounter, Brandon’s visibility on social platforms like Tik Tok has been an effort toward community outreach and vulnerability. Brandon hopes to enlighten his audience on challenges he faces, most notably in the dating scene as a queer and disabled man with AMC. Brandon describes several instances where other disabled folks direct message him with similar stories. Under Brandon’s Tik Tok video captioned “CALLING ALL GAY DISABLED PEOPLE” one viewer comments, “I love this. Dating is so hard. It’s comforting to know my struggle is not mine alone.” Brandon explains that when he first started posting to Tik Tok “I wanted to prove to myself that I was comfortable being vulnerable because it's still a huge struggle for me sometimes to be openly vulnerable and be okay with it.”
Vulnerability is also something he channels through his lyrics. He describes himself as “a collection of painful moments” with music being a creative and therapeutic outlet that allows him to revisit the past and contemplate, “why did I feel this pain and how can I better understand others?” Spanish music has been his most recent creative endeavor but he describes his single “I Did Mind” as one of his most lyrically vulnerable with lyrics reading “I fell the most. I believe you knew I was never so good at keeping my feelings from destroying me.” Other songs from his catalog like “Positions” and his most streamed Spanish track “En Tu Cama” touch on themes of sexuality and actively work to destigmatize and debunk the social desexualization of disabled bodies. Brandon explains that he doesn’t see himself in the current state of the music industry but he treads forward. While organizations like RAMPD work to amplify disability culture in music and entertainment industries, artists like Brandon hope that universal messages behind his evocative lyrics reach all kinds of folks.
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