by Alexis

Becoming Herself: A Trans Woman’s Journey Through Identity and Survival

 My name’s Alexis. I’m from Brownsville, Texas.  I grew up very feminine in a conservative family. We grew up on the southern border and I kind of was just developiEventually I got the support from the community that I had, that they were… they were the ones that really made me feel like no matter what you do, if you wanna do it, if you do...

by Sundeep Singh Boparai

Queer Sikh Man Uses Visibility and Experience in Healthcare to Help and Empower Others.

My name is Sundeep Singh Boparai. My pronouns are he, him, his, and I’m from Queens, New York.  I was a senior in undergrad and my mom was actually making lunch for me. AndSo I decided to go to Hofstra University, where I studied Master’s of Healthcare Administration. Once I graduated, I was like, I need to join a large health system. I joined...

by Daniel

Oprah, Rap & Naked Yoga: One Gay Man’s Coming Out Journey to Finding His Community

Hi, I’m Daniel, from Houston, Texas.    When I was 11 years old, I was at my aunt’s house and my mom happened to be watching an episode of Oprah. I noticed it waSo I went a little bit back into my shell, but I would hear comments on a pretty regular basis about who I was when we were talking about things like top and bottom. I remember gu...

by Tabytha Gonzalez

Gender-Affirming Care Leads Trans Woman From Sex Work & Prison to Motherhood, Marriage, and a Career

I’m Tabytha Gonzalez, pronouns she and her, and I’m from Newark, New Jersey.  I first came to New York City. I was with my dance crew, or a dance crew that I was a pa...

by Jovier Sanchez

Hate Hits Home: How One Queer Couple’s Lives Were Upended By the 2016 Election.

My name is Jovier Sanchez and I’m from New York, New York.  So I moved to Salem with my husband in 2015. We opened a candle store there and it was on the first floor of theI want to say within a week and a half to two, and it was that dramatic, the drop-off for the business that we were initially getting was almost… like, it was night and day. We ...

by Vic

Non-Binary Person Thrives After Finding Supportive Community. “I Feel Very Optimistic.”

Hi, I’m Vic. I’m from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.    When I was younger, I felt like I knew I was different and my body was not mine. And the way I remembI started Googling, YouTubing, and I found that there are other people who also feel this way and that I’m not alone. Even though I had a lot of queer, lesbian and gay frien...

by Andy

Trans Man Breaks Free From Evangelical Cult and Finds Supportive Community.

I’m Andy, and I’m from Tallahassee, Florida.  So I was raised in an evangelical cult. I didn’t realize that at the time. I thought this was a normal church and After I initially came out to that one friend, I started to take more chances on sharing, not just that I was non-binary, but other aspects of my life with more people. And one of...

by Vu Doan

Music to His Ears: Competitive Karaoke Helps Gay Man Find the Confidence to Come Out & Help Others

My name is Vu Doan. I am from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Grew up in a very conservative Vietnamese, Buddhist household. So I had girlfriends and was very much focused on school asAnd as the night ended, and I think everyone celebrated the highlight of the night, but I don’t think anyone there knew how much it meant to me because it really sparked int...

by Ann Gillard

From SF Gay Bubble to Conservative College Station, TX: How One Gay Woman Found Her Core of Queers.

A while ago, I moved from Detroit to a lot of other places and eventually ended up in San Francisco. I just basically thought it was a bubble of gay. Everywhere I went, it felt gaAnd she passed me and I passed her, kept on walking. I noticed that my stomach unclenched. I took a breath. I just felt better. I straightened up my shoulders a little bit and I k...