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 Voices Stories
Gay Man’s Journey From Bathhouse Towel Boy To AIDS Activist.
1970: Gay 10-Year-Old Boy Finds Creative Way To Convince Mom To Buy Teen Magazines Well, I grew up in a small town called Randolph, Massachusetts, which is about 15 miles south of...
How A Lesbian Pushed Her Mom Beyond Tolerance To Become An Advocate.
Hi. I’m Jourdan Porter. I am from Davidson, North Carolina. In tenth grade, I was living right outside Jackson, Mississippi. And it was pretty early in the school year and I had ...
Trans Woman Reflects On Her Journey: “It Was Real For Me And I Was Okay With It.”
Trans Woman Reflects On Her Journey: “It Was Real For Me And I Was Okay With It.” Yeah, I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and when I was five years old, my parents moved to Ph...
“Sometimes I’m A Woman, Sometimes A Man. Most Of The Time I’m Neither. Sometimes I’m Both At The Same Time.”
My name is Erin Busbee. I’m from Cleveland, Ohio. When I was 6 years old, I was at a playground or a park. And I’m playing with the kid there and their parent comes over and in...
Gay Man Comes Out To Friends, Then Family, Then 250 Co-Workers At The Same Time.
Hi. I’m Luis Carlo Parga and I’m from Montreéal, Québec. My grandmother and grandfather moved in from Italy, as did most of my friends, but I was half-Mexican as well. I reme...
Lesbian Activist Recalls Her Fight For Marriage Equality.
1970s: Meeting First Girlfriend And Discovering Lesbianism. “She Really Helped Me Start On That Road.” When I was about 17, so that’s in the seventies, I had this friend Jer...
Lesbian Avenger Recalls Highlights of 1994 “Pride Ride” And Fighting For LGBTQ Rights Across The Country.
My name is Cathie Berrey-Green and I’m from Granville, Ohio. I found myself in 1994 living in Austin, Texas. I was living in this crazy environment, like a queer collective and I...
How A Christina Aguilera Song Impacted A Gay Teen’s Life.
Hi. My name’s Courtney Walton. I’m from Newark, Delaware. I was a sophomore in high school – this is 2002 – and my family and I were driving back from my cousin’s basketb...
Election Results Prompt Queer Woman To Stop Living Fake Life. “Maybe I Could Have Changed Someone’s Vote.”
I’m Chris Landtroop and I’m from Irving, Texas. When I was 18, I was in undergraduate school at Texas Tech in west Texas. There were lots of tumbleweeds and cowboys and not gay...
Encountering Homophobia At A Networking Event: “I Wasn’t Going To Let People Devalue Me.”
I am Marc Coleman. I’m from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. About 14 years ago, I started my business in what has become its current incarnation. And as in the course of running a bu...
With Help From “Gay Spirit Guide”, Woman Goes From Self-Identified Tomboy To “Definitely 100% Gay” In First 72 Hours Of College.
Hi. I’m Keisha Price. I’m from Dover, Delaware. When I was getting ready to go to college, I was loading up the U-Haul with my mom and my dad and my baby brother. My boyfriend ...
From “Daphne Sometimes” To “Daphne Always”: Trans Woman Reflects On Her Drag Queen Past And Journey To Authenticity.
My name is Daphne Overbeck. I am from Roseland, New Jersey. The year is 2013. It’s mid-February. I wake up at 7:00 AM in my ex’s place in Jersey City and I have to make it to a...
