Anastasia, 55, is a Woman Who Identifies as a White Trans Lesbian in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh transgender lesbian

I shouldn’t make presumptions about how folks would react: that I should be prepared for generosity as well as a negative reaction. After the decades of gaslighting, I still struggle to keep this in mind, but I do believe that there is a lot of good will among straight/cis people for the LGBTQ+ community. Name: Anastasia […]

Eli, 41, is a Feminist Trans Man Describing Queer Life in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Feminist Trans Man

I left home at 16 and moved in with my best friends family. My friends became my family.   Name: Eli Age:  41 County of Residence: Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: He/him How do you describe your identity? Feminist Trans Man Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Family was horrible, I […]

56 Lesbian Stories from Western Pennsylvania to #AMPLIFY Lesbian Visibility Day

lesbian salute

Caution – this seems to be one of those made-up celebrations that are used to generate click-bait articles on websites targeting lesbians, but not necessarily driven by lesbians. So this lesbian is going to seize the moment to write a non-click-bait article promoting lesbian visibility. First, read every single blog post I’ve written since 2005. […]

bee Revisits 60+ Years of Her Feminist Lesbian Experiences in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Allegheny County LGBTQ

Name: bee Age: 60 County of Residence: Allegheny County Pronouns: She/Her How do you describe your identity? I’m a lesbian feminist. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I came home from a day in the First Grade and announced that I wanted to marry my teacher (a nun) and kiss […]

Celebrating #TDOV with 64 Trans Stories from Western Pennsylvania

Transgender Day of Visibility Pennsylvania

In honor of the Day of Trans Visibility, here are 64 stories from neighbors who live in Pittsburgh, Erie, Johnstown, Greensburg, New Castle, Bradford and beyond. These stories have been curated from the #AMPLIFY archive which has 290 stories total to date. Some are in their early 20s while others are closer to 60. Some […]

Maria, 37, is a Queer Trans Latinx Challenging Us To Be Better Trans Allies #AMPLIFY

Trans Woman Pittsburgh

It is never easy coming out, be it for the first time or the hundredth time, and that little bit of fear is still there after having some people in my life no longer wish to be a part of my life. But I feel it is important to be out, and visible, and that […]

Madelyne, 19, Shares Her Story as a Lesbian Growing Up in Johnstown #AMPLIFY

Lesbian Johnstown

It’s important to hear multiple coming out stories and just listen for a while before assuming you know everything. Once you hear some stories, ask those individuals what you can do to help. Name: Madelyne “Maddie” Moore Age: 19 County of Residence: Cambria Pronouns: She/Her/Her’s How do you describe your identity? A happy lesbian Please describe your […]

Sarah, 38, Talks Transitioning in Her Rural Pennsylvania Community #AMPLIFY

Trans Woman Rural Pennsylvania

Students past and present, parents, and community members spoke out against his hateful rhetoric. It briefly went viral in the surrounding area and I received countless messages of support from strangers and friends alike until he deleted the post and backtracked his statements. Obviously, there are still many people who agree with his position in […]

Helen, 32, is a Lesbian, Immigrant, Irish Comedian Living in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Irish Immigrant Lesbian Comedian

How would you describe yourself NOW in terms of “being out”? I am super out! I talk about being a lesbian openly in my comedy often. I hope by being super open about my sexuality, I can bring some visibility to the community and hopefully win some hearts for the LGBTQ community from folks who haven’t perhaps had personal experiences with queer people in the past.

Jason, 38, Talks About Workplace Discrimination as a White Gay Man #AMPLIFY

white gay male Pittsburgh

  Marriage equality is great, but it has overshadowed our greater fight. Name:  Jason Age: 38 County of Residence: Allegheny, raised in Warren, Warren County, PA; lived in North Haledon, NJ and Bay Shore, NY (Long Island) Pronouns: gay male How do you describe your identity? white gay male Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? […]