Femme Lesbian Heather Wants to Build Family in Rural Cambria County #AMPLIFY

  Name:  Heather Age: 41 County of Residence:  Cambria, formerly Indiana County Preferred Pronouns: I’m a she, her, girl How do you describe your identity? I’m a white femme lesbian. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I was 20 years old and living with my first girlfriend, and I […]

Dave On Coming Out and Being Out in Cambria County #AMPLIFY

Gay Cambria County

Editor’s Note: This post contains content about adults sexually abusing children. While we completely disagree with framing such contact as consensual, we recognize that this is a lived experience for many of our contributors. Survivors make their own survival choices; I condemn the adults involved, not the children. We have included information on where to […]

Avery is a Bisexual, Latino Trans Man in Cambria County #AMPLIFY

Johnstown Bisexual Trans Man

  Name:  Avery Age: 22 County of Residence: Cambria Preferred Pronouns: Him/His How do you describe your identity? I’m a bisexual man. I happen to be Latino, and I happen to also be transgender. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I sort of had two, I guess. I was openly […]

Bill, 52, is a Gay Man Living in a Small Town in Cambria County #AMPLIFY

Gay Cambria County

  Name: Bill Age:  52 County of Residence: Cambria, formerly Indiana Preferred Pronouns: he, him How do you describe your identity? A white gay man who is not butch or fem. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I never formally came out to most family members. Over time it became […]

Jill, 49, Wants Young LGBTQ People To Have a Safe Place to Go In Cambria County #AMPLIFY

lesbian cambria county

  Name: Jill Age: 49 County of Residence:  Cambria, grew up in Somerset Preferred Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? Woman, female, lesbian Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I was 23. Married to a man who very much understood me. Met a woman and spent the next […]

Char, 62, is a ‘Very Late Bloomer’ Lesbian in Cambria County #AMPLIFY

  Name: Char Age:  62 County of Residence:  Cambria. Lived in Somerset County during my childhood, until age 21. Preferred Pronouns: She/her How do you describe your identity? Female, woman, lesbian, gay Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I came out after being in a heterosexual marriage for close to […]

316 Reasons to Add Your LGBTQ Story to the #AMPLIFY Archive

Since 2015, we have been collecting stories from LGBTQ folks with ties to Western Pennsylvania. Some live here now, others grew up in this region. Others still attended college or had a job that brought them here or spent summers with their grandparents in an outlying community. Here includes 26 counties in Western Pennsylvania, from […]

QT is a 28 year old cis, white, queer female with ties to rural Western Pennsylvania #AMPLIFY

Armstrong Allegheny Cambria Indiana counties

As someone who does not get clocked as LGBT, i hear a lot of very negative talk at work, from people who are very anti lgbt and unaware that I’m part of the community Name: QT Age:  28 County of Residence: Allegheny, previously Armstrong, Indiana, Cambria Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? Cis white queer female […]

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. […]

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 […]