The gay wing of Men’s Central Jail is a party

This behind-the-bars glimpse at life inside the gay wing of Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles makes prison look like one big party! Inmates are strutting down imaginary runways, cracking bawdy jokes and redesigning their uniforms (using Skittles to dye the drab material rainbow). Their closeness reminds me of the chosen families created within the gay community, when drag queens become mothers, daughters and sisters.

The incarcerated gays have it so good, straight inmates will pretend to be gay just to get in the wing. But as one inmate reveals, there remains a dark and lonely current beneath the flamboyancy and fun: