Happy Pride 2025!!!

Considering it’s only here that I’ve come out and pretty much only to you, I don’t have much. Not even my best friend knows. @Jynx

@Jynx oh I love this thread ❤️🧡💛💚💙🩷💜

@Jynx much like @Captain24 but I'm not even out here...I don't know what out means for me. I find that it's complex and it's one of those things that I've never opened up to anyone about.

But here we go...I had a dream the other night that I was loved and cared for, and in a kind of deep and loving relationship with another female. It felt so...gentle and wholesome.

I don't know who I am regarding my own sexuality. I've never been in a relationship and protect my own space and boundaries regarding other people. I don't have walls up, I have a fortress!

My best friend in High School at the time, she was going through some stuff and I didn't understand it. High School me was nerdy and didn't dare step a foot outside of being a "well behaved, good girl." But we caught up about a year ago and she has transitioned to male. He shared what he was going through in High School and how liberating and freeing it was to step fully into his authentic self and I...would love that for myself, not the transition, but just to understand who I am and to step into it.

I've taught students who are gender fluid. I've had a student in Grade 2 whose clothing indicated what gender they were feeling on the day. And I've seen really horrible bullying in the teenage years of a student of mine who was gender fluid. So much so that she stopped coming to school, but kept in contact with me over email.

I tried to start a pride group in the High school where I taught, and was told that it was a good idea, but the community wasn't ready for it.

Now I teach in a Catholic School and I find it really frustrating because I feel judged...

Edit - this post is all over the place, it's difficult for me to talk about.

Hey Forumities and happy Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈 to everyone!!

What great questions @Jynx and thanks for creating this amazing opportunity for us to all share our queer experienes and get to know each other.

How do you connect to the Rainbow Community? I mostly do it through work as I facilitaite a Trans and Gender Diverse Peer Support Group with a bunch of queer folks who are TGD. I also met a friend through a queer event that I help create last year and we have become close friends which is lovely. They are my only TGD person whom I socialise with here in Melbourne, so I guess that makes me still a little isolated from the community. I also have a bunch of friends up in Far North Queensland and I catch up with them once or twice a year when I visit my famity. I have a group of guys here in Melbourne who I met at a Meetup group nearly 5 years ago and we still catch up for dinner every week.

What has been your experience of queer connectedness? I feel a lot of connection with my work colleagues who identify as TGD but it mostly is limited to work events and worktime. I feel that the solidarity helps us appriciate each other and the diversity we bring to the workplace. My friend who I am close to outside of work I feel a real bond with as we have gotten to know each other very well and feel very connected. Though I don't see a lot of them but I don't feel that I need to either as they are married and I have a a busy social life. My friends in FNQ were that first people to accept me and gender identity and made me feel so at ease and welcome in their group. I went out dressed female for the first time with them and had such a lovely experience. They inspired me to transition and helped me realise my indentity. The guys who I hand out with accpeted me though struggled a bit to use my preferred pronouns but have been a lovely part of my life for a long time now and we are all really close.

The good, the bad, and the in-between? My family have found my transition and new identity hard to get used to and we have had a lot of disagreements. I had to leave my holidays with them early twice as it was not safe for me to be around them and not have my mental health affected more than it was at the time. I also have a close friend who publicly made fun of my pronouns and it has affected our relationship and my involvement with him. I was totally blindsided but it has taught me to stand up for my self and not accept it when people disrespct me and my identity.

For those that know me and my story here on the Forums thank you for your warmth and kind heartedness in your posts. But those that don't know me I indentify at a transgender woman and use they/them pronouns. I transitioned in November 2023 and it has been the best thing I could have done for my life and mental health and wellbeing.

Thanks again for this space to share our stories and get to know each other!!

Take care

RiverSeal

@Jynx @Happy Pride month! This is an awesome thread to start up as we celebrate our beautiful community.

I am in my 50’s and I’m a lesbian 🙂 As an older person with disabilities it can be quite tough connecting with community. I don’t have family support and have experienced violent homophobia from family. But I don’t have a small group of people that I’ve met over the years who have shown so much love and this has helped heaps. Sometimes Queers have shown disability discrimination and at times sexism too. That makes me really sad. I’ve found most of the community are amazing. A safe space where we are all celebrated would be rad!

@RiverSeal Hello it’s so awesome to meet you. Thank you for sharing your lived experience. I’m a cis women and I love ALL women and people of any gender in our community. You are respected and valued and I am sad to hear you’ve experienced transphobia from family and friends.

It is wonderful that you facilitate a Trans and Gender Diverse Peer Support Group. It’s an awesome way to feel supported and happy.

Real pleasure to meet you.

@Captain24 You are awesome for feeling safe enough to come out here. I realise how hard it is to come out and we all have our unique journey and that’s all ok. Homophobia and transphobia is so ugly and hurtful. I hope this space is providing you with connection and feelings of inclusion.

@MissGremlin Happy Pride! Isn’t it cool we’ve got this safe space to celebrate and share our experiences!

@Jynx @MissGremlin @Captain24 @NightFury

Good to see this thread.

I have been called gay, bi, and definitely straight.

I have mixed with gay people all my life, from visiting my gay uncles as a kid. I had 4 gay uncles. I have always been against homophobia and racism but I am also old enough to have experienced a big range of experiences, so don’t idealise any community.

I have mixed feelings about the rainbow flag these days. I have a deep science side and like my rainbows to be pure. I am also am weary of over pushing any one group’s ideologies. I also read a bit of queer theory in critical theory postgrad, and well know lived experience variations among different parts of the LGBTIQ+ peoples. Like in churches, enforced unity can be problematic. I try to be respectful and keep my language inclusive, but honestly I have been shocked by some of the coercion I see regarding acceptable language among some advocates.

I knew more male queers as a young person than I do now. I am grateful for my current female gay friends, we share a lot of values, experiences and even events, that go way back, but these friends are new. Still I feel immediately closer to them as we can quickly agree on more than what I feel with more superficial typical conversation.

I think it is wonderful younger generations are questioning many things about sexuality and gender, and asexuality etc. etc I am old school and seen a lot. I hope my experience on the margins can still be respected. I don’t have to share a lot, but knew trans people [edited by moderator] over 40 years ago so, as usual, a bit different.

Empowerment and agency are important for all people and getting a just and fair balance, is always a challenge. In my life, the gay uncles had more power, than maybe they should. I am disappointed in them in the long run, and I loved, believed and supported them for decades. They didn’t support me, mainly gave me the flick.

Still, I welcome discussions that are broader than many narrow minded versions, of our human multiplicity and experiences of sexuality. Cough cough… while keeping it clean and healthy, just not repressing… cos I do think that denial and repression contributes to mental health issues.

There is over lap for me in the Mad Pride movement. I also think life stages are important to recognise.

@Cuddlebear it's really amazing 😊