“I was a caged bird in my small town with my religious mother, and now I was free, discovering my full potential. I realized Christianity and sexuality do not need to fight each other. They can live peacefully.”
‘I cried and begged God, ‘Take this away from me, or take my life. I don’t want it.’ I knew my mom would never accept me.’: Queer woman urges ‘sexuality and religion can coincide’
13-Year-Old Intersex Girl Given Up For Adoption, Accused Of Having ‘Demon’ Inside Her
“At night I would pray to God, ‘Please make me a normal girl in my next life.’ All I could see ahead of me was conversion therapy. Now, I’m finally in a safe place where I am loved unconditionally for myself.”
‘I was IMMEDIATELY sent to conversion therapy and a ‘sexual-healing’ facility. I had to blend in with ‘good Christian folk.’: Trans person finds their identity, ‘Living authentically gives me freedom’
“After discovering our relationship, her parents locked her inside her home, got her fired from her job, removed all access to any phones, internet, or car. My parents saw my actions as sinful, and deserving of punishment.”
‘Do they know you have a wife?’ She said, ‘H*ll no. She knows I have kids, though.’: Wife accidentally outs spouse, worries for the judgment to come, ‘I hope one day it won’t matter who we love’
“I outed her without realizing I did it. She has a long list of clients who she has worked hard to impress. And then I lied to her about it.”
‘What did you do to make *her* like this?!’ Wow. My son was just 4 years old.’: Mom shares lessons learned raising trans son who ‘is blazing trails’
“I thought I was being so progressive when I ‘allowed’ my son to dress ‘like a boy’ when he began voicing his opinions. Now, I laugh at that notion. I’ve transformed into a completely different person.”
‘A friend broke up with him after he was outed to her as trans.’: Mom of 11-year-old trans son shares ‘frightening’ story
“The child’s parent who dropped her off chastised me (out of earshot of the kids) for having a pride flag outside my house and asked me to ‘not talk about inappropriate matters with his daughter.’ My heart literally couldn’t handle it.”
‘How will you know you don’t like sex if you don’t try?’ Kissing left me uncomfortable. As a ‘good Catholic girl,’ I was pressured to marry and have kids.’: Asexual woman says she ‘doesn’t need sex to feel happy’
“I grew up in a conservative household. My father had strict rules: Dating was for finding someone to marry, and premarital sex was bad. I had my share of crushes, but I could never imagine myself doing anything sexually charged. When I went to college, a guy friend asked me out on a date. He was aware I wanted to stay a virgin. I quickly realized kissing left me uncomfortable. I was told time and time again, ‘You just haven’t found the right person yet.'”
‘I’m 14, alone with a boy. ‘What if you had sex with me?’ He leers. ‘No thanks.’ ‘What if I held you down and made you?’: Survivor advocates for fellow survivors of the Me Too Movement, ‘Culture tells us not to complain. To keep quiet.’
“I’m 17, and I have a long-distance boyfriend. He begs me for phone sex and I say no. ‘I’m sorry, I’m just not comfortable.’ I hang up on him, feeling guilty. He’s lonely in the Marine barracks. I’m all he has. He needs me. He suffers from depression, self-harm. A few nights later, I pause on the phone. I hear his heavy breathing, muffled moans. ‘Are you…?’ I ask. ‘Don’t stop. Keep talking,’ he pants. Feeling sick, I hang up the phone. I feel dirty and embarrassed. ‘Men will only go as far as you let them,’ I’ve been told. Boys will be boys.”
‘Today my son’s friend said, ‘My family doesn’t hang out with gay people, so I’m not going to hang out with you anymore.’: Mom to LGBT son urges ‘this is why moms like us lose our children’
“Tears dripped from between his little fingers. He climbed into my lap like a small child. ‘If I could take the hurt away, I would,’ I said. My 11-year-old replied, ‘I know, but you can’t take the gay away.’ This is why moms like us lose our children.”
‘Please, when I wake up, change me into a boy.’ I’d make deals with God and wake up excited. Nothing changed.’: Transgender man finally ‘at peace,’ loves who he sees ‘looking back in the mirror’
“Growing up, there was this football field behind my house. I’d go there and lie down in the middle of the it, looking up at the sky and begging God to strike me with a lightning bolt. And just change me. Change my body. Every day I did this, and woke up sobbing. I didn’t have a word for how I felt. I knew I was attracted to women. But I also knew I felt like a boy trapped in a girl’s body.”
