I'm From Driftwood
The stories on I’m From Driftwood send a simple but powerful message to LGBTQIA+ people everywhere: You are not alone. I’m From Driftwood combats isolation and creates empathy to build a more understanding and accepting world. These are our stories, told in our own voices.
Latest Sexuality Stories
After High School Trauma and Housing Insecurity, Gay Man Finds His Voice and Uplifts Others.
My name is Nico Ramsey and I am from Keller, Texas. The first boyfriend happened when I – because I came out when I was 12 years old and that was great, but then we broke up. Fas...
One Person’s Path To Nonbinary Identity: “Having Doubt and Uncertainty Doesn’t Make Me a Fraud. It Makes Me Human.”
Hi, my name is Rae McDaniel. I’m from Chicago, Illinois. I was in a place in my life about four or five years ago where I was really questioning a lot about my gender identity an...
Traumatic House Fire Experience Leads Genderqueer Person To Accept Themselves: “The More I Go Down this Journey, the Happier I Become.”
Hi. My name is Emmet Hunker and I’m from Washington DC. I had just gotten back from my solo travels around the world, and I was sitting on the couch of a friend who I was crashin...
Black Gay Man Reflects On A Life Defined By Love, Authenticity, Activism And Connection. “That’s Just Part Of Who I Am.”
1980s: Black Gay Man On Coming Out In The South: “While I Did Come Out, I Didn’t Really Feel Free.” So, you know, for me, the last thing that I wanted to be was a gay man be...
Gay Man Finds Confidence And Sheds His Toxic Masculinity On The Theater Stage. “For Once, You’re Seeing The Real Me.”
My name is Jack. I’m from Chicago, Illinois. So I came out of the closet when I was about 15 years old. I come from a very masculine, sportsy middle class suburban background, an...
Gay Man Works Through The Trauma Of Sexual Assault. “I Am A Lot Happier Now That I’ve Done This Work.”
My name is Nicholas and I’m from Orange County, California. So when I was 14, or sophomore year of high school, whichever came first, I came out to my mom first off as a bisexual...
Gay Puerto Rican Learns To Embrace Both His Sexuality And His Ethnicity. “I Feel More Balanced.”
My name is William Perez and I’m from Brooklyn, New York. I went to Cornell University in 1987. I struggled my first semester so much that I had straight Fs and one D. So I was s...
Lesbian Activist Recounts Her Decades-Long Fight For Equality In Philadelphia And Beyond.
1980s: Being Openly Gay In College “Wasn’t Without Some Level Of Risk Every Day.” When I was growing up in high school, I had no idea that I was LGBTQ or potentially LGBTQ. ...
“We Never Know What Life Has In Store For Us.” Gay Man Details Journey From Small Town France To Grand Wedding In Paris.
*Scroll down for English transcript. Je m’appelle Romain Goubet ; je viens de Saint-Quentin en France. J’ai grandi dans cette petite ville de Picardie dans les années q...
Black & Gay In New Orleans From The 60s To Today: “You Get Up, You Dust Yourself Off, And You Fight On.”
First Shunned By Neighbors, Then The Bars: Being Black In New Orleans In The 1960s and 1970s. Well, I was born to Sadie and Charlie Hickerson. We lived in an area of New Orleans c...
From “Jose” To “Joe” And Back Again: Gay Man Creates Alternate Identity To Overcome Trauma.
Hi. My name is Jose Ramon. I’m from the Bronx, New York. I was 13. I lived on Riverside Drive on 160th and Riverside. Beautiful neighborhood. My mother and father were both born ...
Tensions Ease After Gay Man Comes Out To Mom. “It Just Changed Things For The Better.”
My name is Aaron. I’m from Detroit, Michigan. Growing up, I always felt a little bit different and I was also more of an introvert. So I didn’t have a lot of friends – I was ...
