lgbtq

The letters LGBTQ are just another way of saying that Love is Love.

What to Say When You Aren't Sure of Someones Gender Identity
You just meet someone, and they seem very nice. Their voice isn't too deep or too high. They have short hair, but not too short. Their height isn't too tall or too short. Their engendered clothes hide their body shape. You have no idea how to gender them.
By Isobel B8 years ago in Humans
Partner's Transition
My name is Isobel. I am a 20-year-old artist going to university for a BA in sociology. I am an artist, an animal lover, a vegetarian (and I have been since the womb), lazy, sometimes bitchy, and also very caring. I live in a smaller town with not much to do other than stay home with my cats, go outside for a walk, and deal with the debilitating cold weather that comes with living in Northern Ontario... so basically, I hide in my house curled up under a blanket all winter. I live with my partner who is kind, caring, intelligent, emotional, motivated, sweet, hard working, an animal lover, a great cook, creative, loves to read, a great writer, the best at giving hugs, is warm, loving, oh and he is transgender. Through living it and research I have done for my sociology class on gender, I have come to learn that many people realize that transitioning is BIG for the person going through the transition, and I am not saying it isn't. They are changing their whole life around! My partner is going from female identifying and presenting to the world as feminine, to male identifying and presenting to the world as masculine. He will be going on testosterone injections and going through surgery. It is a really big, stressful, and exciting ordeal! However, not many people realize that their partner also goes through a transition. I have only started to experience changes in myself and my identity once my partner came out the world as male. I start to look at myself in a new, strange, and different light. I see my partner as being who they always have been, I just call them by a different name and pronoun. No biggie. Looking in on myself, I feel completely different. I feel lost. Not to say that I am not happy, I am just left confused. My partner was female when we first started dating. My partner was female for eight months out of our relationship. I was in a homosexual relationship for eight months. I was seen as a lesbian—although I identify as pansexual. (For those of you who don't know, lesbian means girls who like girls and pansexual means people who like anyone no matter the gender.) My identity became solid. I was used to the world seeing me as a lesbian, I embraced it. It became part of me. Now, everything has changed. I don't know how to act, or dress, or walk. I used to act butch, dress butch, and walk like I didn't have a care in the world. Now I feel I can't dress butch because it will make my partner look less manly, I have to act more feminine because then my partner will look more manly... My identity has changed... and I am not sure what it has become. I can barely walk around without questioning if I am walking feminine enough, or speaking in a high enough voice. The stress is tearing me apart. But no one understands, and no one will because the way people look at it, I am not transitioning, I am not being affected by my partners transition. "The only one affected by a transition is the person transitioning," or so I am told. I can only imagine how the next few years are going to affect me. I love my partner with everything I have, and I will not leave them because of this. This is not their fault; I just have to find a new identity. I have to transition.
By Isobel B8 years ago in Humans
What My Heart Tells Me
I’m quite a private person, ironically. “ironic” because I’m a Youtuber, artist, and actor and I am in the business of public disclosure, and I’m part of the generation that shares everything! Literally everything! From what you do in the morning, to what you ate the other day. Aside from my daily social posts that allow glimpses into my life, I tend to keep to my thoughts, and words to myself-relatively speaking. I am getting better at voicing or sharing my opinions, but for the most part- I keep to myself. Now, if you get me around the few people I trust, and the few people I know, I’ll say just about anything that comes to mind. Anything! And that is not an understatement! I mean- just the other day I asked some friends: “if a frozen watermelon is still a watermelon? Or is it an ice melon?” So, don’t try me, lol. I’ll let my mind spill its contents like a cup with no lid, whether it makes sense or applicable to the moment or not. I’ll dish it all out.
By Liam Trefry8 years ago in Humans
My Coming Out
I was raised very conservative. Raised to believe that I could only love and be with a tall handsome man. That my future depended on the rich guy I could bag. Never was my future to find a lover that was worth my heart, but all for the money. I always stayed in my lane and never broken out of my mold. I have had relationship after relationship seeking a perfect match. Looking for someone to heal my brokenness and repair the damage for loving beyond my means. I never really understood why I always seemed to date “pretty boys” or why I would catch myself saying things like “You’re so beautiful” or “You simply take my breath away”. After two beautiful births happening in my twenties. I started to change. I noticed more and more that I was uncomfortable with the man I was with. Actually, I was always uncomfortable with any man, but with my upbringing... I remembered that I would be labeled the black sheep and outcast of my family should I choose to love honestly. In 2013 I became pregnant with my third child. I was overcome with a sense that even if I was living a lie. I was being blessed with children to grow my spirit and help my life’s goals. I lost that third child in my second trimester. I’ll never forget how cold and alone I felt. This was my second awaking to my true self. I had a lot of aggression issues when this happened. So, I joined a local roller derby team to help aid my anger and help with my loneliness. Upon joining my new team I met a girl. She quickly saw my talent to be a Jammer and took me under her wing. She became my mentor, coach and best friend. We skated all the time and worked out together often. I could feel her concern for me and she became my go-to person with issues and struggles. As my home life continued to crash around me from its brittle foundation. I noticed I was falling in love with my best friend. Every moment became a question of “I wonder if she is missing me?” Or “when can I see you again?”. The texts between us became more often and then moving to Skype then to regular sleep overs. We weren’t physical, but I could feel the connection like I’ve never EVER felt. Of course, the divorce came and the separation happened, but it made me see everything in black and white. The people who called themselves my friends and family started to diminish. However, I simply didn’t care. I felt like I lived under a rock all my life and I was tired. I came out and became a lesbian in September 2014 and it’s been a BLESSING!! I’ve never been as happy as I am and I’ve never felt so much love, support or comfort with one person. She completely engulfed me with her charm and beauty. I would request that anyone reading my story be challenged! Are you who you want or what others want? Are you happy with where you are? Have you been told to walk straight when you have swag in your step? Take a chance folks! You might lose family or friends or you might not. The idea of your happiness is exactly that: YOURS. Don’t let others determine where you go in life or to restrict you. If we live under a rock we will never experience the beautiful life we could have. Be willing to take a chance and be true to your nature. Life is not a popularity contest. My girlfriend is now my wife and we are still deeply connected as we were when this all started. I cherish the moments both big and small and look forward to our growing years. I am happy that I made a choice to be the real me long ago. If I had stayed where I was I would have never known REAL love or its beauty. Life has so much more in store for this lipstick lesbian and I am forever grateful.
By Brittany Smith8 years ago in Humans
Sexuality as a Journey
A short story about how I began to acknowledge that sexuality is fluid and an ever-changing aspect of me. This essay includes some “TMI” material and mentions self-harm. Names have been changed for their privacy.
By Bill8 years ago in Humans
'I Don't Want to be Alone'
When I first came out as transgender, I was single and heartbroken. My partner at the time just broke up with me two weeks before I came out. I had my friends there for me as I transition slowly. I felt that I was not ready to date yet.
By CJ Vondal8 years ago in Humans
Do Labels Matter?
This is somewhat of a follow-up piece to the other story/article I wrote called "Not Knowing Who I Am." I've identified as straight, bisexual, and lesbian throughout my life. Each time I "came out," I would question if I really was 100% gay or bi. I didn't really think much of it until I started my first year at college. I had identified as lesbian for about a year and had tons of support from friends and family. Then college came along and I was set on staying gay.
By Stacy J8 years ago in Humans
Not Knowing Who I Am
I first fell in love with my friend, we'll call her Leah, when I was in the seventh grade. How did I know I was in love with her, you ask? Well, I couldn't tell you, 'cause I just knew something was different when I was around her. The only person who knew I liked her was my other friend, we'll call her Haley, who was my confidant. I mustered up the courage to tell Leah that I liked her one day. Her response? Pure shock with a little bit of disgust mixed in. She never talked to me after that, but I knew something was different about me after I realized I was in love with her. So, I did what any thirteen-year-old did and told my mom I thought I was bisexual. Her response? "It's probably just a phase, Stacy." I didn't know any other way to respond to that, so I just agreed with her and pushed the idea of being bi into the back of my mind, slowly forgetting about it. With the idea of being not straight as a phase, I strictly dated guys throughout the rest of middle school and my freshman year of high school, but still struggled with my sexuality because some girls still piqued my interest.
By Stacy J8 years ago in Humans
The Truth
Once upon a time I was in a creative writing class in college. Our task was to create a character and write an inner monologue. I chose someone from a novel I was developing. Sitting here, going through some of my things, I realize it's not something I will ever use. Admittedly, it's not my best piece of writing, but I did put some heart into it and wanted to share this bit.
By Mitch Davis8 years ago in Humans
The Key to Happiness
You (my teacher) said that the key to happiness was learning to play: by exploring the environment and experiencing real life rather than watching television and playing video games.
By Rion Marks8 years ago in Humans
Beaten by Love
This story takes place to a time where I really didn't know who I was. My actions at this time told exactly what I did and did not need at the time. This story takes place a few years before my transition to the beautiful transwoman that I am.
By Merlin Mystique8 years ago in Humans
Coming Out
The world that we live in isn't as inclusive as we think. We look at those in the LGBT community and we have so many different terms to know and it means that we can label almost every single person. You can not want sex and want a romantic relationship. You can want sex and nothing more. You can like the opposite sex, same sex, both, like those in the middle, like those who feel more boy some days and more girl other days, like those in transition, like all of the above. The LGBT terms are as flexible as a gymnast. The terms are not the problem; the problem is having to tell people.
By Sam Renton8 years ago in Humans