Maya Keyes
| Maya Keyes | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Maya Jeane Marcel-Keyes May 23, 1985 New Jersey, United States |
| Known for | Social and political activism |
Maya Jeane Marcel-Keyes (born May 23, 1985) is an American social and political activist and daughter of Alan Keyes, a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Marcel-Keyes has been involved with the anarchist and gay rights movements, despite her staunch conservative upbringing. She also identifies herself as adamantly pro-life, describing this stance as integral to her pacifist beliefs.
Marcel-Keyes was born in New Jersey and raised in suburban Maryland by Alan Keyes, and wife Jocelyn Marcel-Keyes who is a native of India. Marcel-Keyes is the second of three children. At the age of 16 she was confirmed into the Roman Catholic Church.
Maya Marcel-Keyes often sought friends that were outside the family's conservative atmosphere, befriending those that began to introduce her to new ideas. During her teenage years, Marcel-Keyes began to evaluate her sexual orientation. She eventually came out as a lesbian. The death of a close friend, a young man named Shymmer, presaged Marcel-Keyes' entry into the public eye. Shymmer had been kicked out of his house at age 16 after revealing his sexual orientation to his parents, thereby forcing him to survive on the streets. After over three years living without a home, and facing many of the problems LGBT youth face while homeless — rape, beatings, prostitution — Shymmer died of starvation brought about by a severe case of anorexia nervosa.
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