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Name: Ty Age: 18 County of Residence: I’ve lived in Erie, Edinboro, and will be moving to Warren, Pa. Pronouns: He/him/his How do you describe your identity? I am a transgender pansexual male. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? When I came out as a lesbian, I didn’t face any problems. […]
Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Well it didn’t go well. I was married with kids. My now ex and I are best friends he is a really great guy. We coparent well. My family has had a harder time with this as it goes against their beliefs
Name: Dawn Age: 33 County of Residence: Westmoreland, formerly Armstrong county Preferred Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? I’m transgender, male to female though I haven’t transitioned, I’m sexually unsure. I’m also a furry. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? My coming out was via letter to […]
I read the news that Jackie Evancho is going to perform during the Inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump. And my heart sank. As my readers probably know, her older sister Juliette is a young trans woman who has bravely stood up to hurtful anti-trans discriminatory policies in her school district and is working with Lambda Legal […]
“[After 9th grade concert] Once we got home, my tears had turned to anger. I ended up slamming every door I touched, kicked off my shoes so hard they hit the wall, and told my mom I hated her. She got in my face, and my dad stepped in. He sent my little brother to his room before I recalled what happened at the school. He sighed, but didn’t say anything. He was a man of few words. After a few minutes of me blubbering, trying to calm down, the three of us went to the kitchen table to talk.
I remember my dad sitting across from me and my mom sitting to my right at our tiny cramped kitchen table. I don’t remember the specifics of conversation, mostly because I blocked it out, but in a nutshell, they told me homosexuality was wrong and I was going to Hell if I continued liking girls. I fidgeted with a leftover napkin as I told them I loved Z. We were best friends. I said I was bisexual, not homosexual, hoping that might somehow make it better. It didn’t. I was still damned just the same.
In the weeks following my admission, my parents forced me to start counseling.”
Have you ever experienced discrimination based on your identity? Specifically, in a job setting, when applying for housing or while in public. While living in Butler, whether past or present, it is not safe to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community or perceived to be a member. When living in Butler, I received threats, was harassed, had my car vandalized and have been physically harmed as a result of being gay and prior to coming out, for being perceived as a gay person. I think a mistake is being made if people deny a problem exists. Just because someone says something does not exists, doesn’t mean it doesn’t.
Name: Dominic
Age: 18
County of Residence: Allegheny County
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him
How do you describe your identity? Cis White Male Bisexual
Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? When I came out, my mom took away my computer for the summer (I came out right at the end of the school year), saying that she was taking it away because of my “porn addiction” and that her taking it away on the same day I came out was coincidental. When I got my computer back for the school year, she installed a religious filter on my computer called Covenant Eyes.
Name: Ben Stoviak Age: 29 County of Residence: Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: He/They How do you describe your identity? Queer, gay, male-bodied; I like to think of myself as a lover above these things, though, and like to remind people that I’m many more things than this—I’m a teacher, professional, creative, son, brother, adventurer, and friend. Please describe your coming out […]
“He was just thin, lived in NYC, and was gay so in the early 90’s, and being a kid of the Nancy Reagan fear generation, I assumed he had full blow AIDS and that someday I would, too.” Name: Shain Kish Age: 32 County of Residence: Mercer County, also lived in Allegheny. Now lives in New […]
Name: Mark Age: 29 County of Residence: Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: He How do you describe your identity? Male Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? When I was 18 to one of my close friends. She had actually been under the impression that I was “100% hetero” and I had to set […]
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