Photographer Maxwell Poth Perfectly Captures What It's Like To Be An LGBTQ+ Kid In The US Today In His New Book, "Young Queer America"
buzzfeed.comphotographed some very big celebrities over the years; like Ricky Martin, Emily Hampshire, and Imagine Dragons' frontman Dan Reynolds.
But, it is his work in documenting LGBTQ+ youth that is the focus of his wonderful and powerful first book, Young Queer America: Real Stories and Faces of LGBTQ+ Youth.
The book features LGBTQ+ kids aged 11 to 18, from across the US, sharing their stories of what it is like being queer in America today.It all started in 2019, when Maxwell — who grew up in Utah and was raised Mormon — learned that the leading cause of death in his home state for young people between the ages of 10 and 17 is suicide.
This startling statistic led him to travel to Utah to document what it’s like for kids growing up "where no one is out…where being queer isn’t an option." Eventually, his work documenting LGBTQ+ youths would evolve into Project Contrast — a nonprofit that helps queer kids who are struggling to find community, connect with one another, and share their stories.
