Lifestyle TV personality Yianni Zinonos recalls his experiences growing up and coming to terms with his sexual orientation in a strict Greek Orthodox family in the four-part ABC documentary series: “The Making of Modern Australia”.
Host of “Yianni’s City Life”, a TVS cooking show where the camp and quirky chef invites us to his modern greek kitchen; hits puberty just as gay Australian culture began to assert itself.
His parents are Greek Cypriot immigrants who came to Australia like many Greeks, to find a better life in a young country. Mr Zinonos describes the clash of his conservative ethnic heritage with the blossoming gay community of Sydney in the early 1980’s.
“It’s a challenge being gay coming from a Greek Orthodox background because they’ve got such conservative values,” the Kingsford resident said. “For so many gay Greeks out there, even though society’s changing, being accepted is still a big issue.”
Mr. Zinonos is featured in the third episode of “The Making of Modern Australia” this Thursday, August 5th. The episode: “The Australian Heart”, deals with the dramatic changes in Australian sexuality and gender relations from the Second World War to present day.
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