Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

Mr. Hyphen 2011 finalist Nate Cedilla.

On day three of our Five Contestants, Five Days coverage of Mr. Hyphen 2011 (check out all of the contestant profiles thus far), we highlight finalist Nate Cedilla.

Let’s talk about sex, baby ... with Mr. Hyphen contestant Nate Cedilla, obviously!

Nate is passionate about bringing to light a new perspective on Asian American male sexuality and self-love -- he speaks all across California about sex and its many intricacies. He also works to build a queer-positive and sex-positive API space by holding workshops about intimacy and serving as an advocate for HIV and STI awareness efforts. At Mr. Hyphen 2011, he’ll be reppin’ In The Mix (ITM), an HIV awareness and youth development program designed for queer people of color.

On competing in this year’s Mr. Hyphen competition, Nate says, “By putting ourselves on the stage and retelling our narratives, we are affirming everything that makes us so proud and strong. And by the same token, our public display allows us (and others) to challenge our own discourse, identities, and self-perceptions of what it means to be an Asian-American male.”

Be still our beating Hyphen hearts! Nate, you just get us.

And we’re really loving that outfit. We want more! Excited to see what Retrofit Republic comes up with.

Mr. Hyphen 2011 is on Saturday, November 5, at the Brava! Theater in San Francisco. Click here for more info on the event and to get tickets.