“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.”
‘A friend broke up with him after he was outed to her as trans.’: Mom of 11-year-old trans son shares ‘frightening’ story
‘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.”
‘Mom, I’m gay.’ I was crying so loudly. ‘So what? You’re my son. Nothing is going to change.’: Man loses mother to heart attack, wishes he ‘thanked her for her words’
“It was Christmas time. I’d just finished getting my tree and laid down when my brother called. ‘Mom passed.’ Time stopped. Silence. I instantly threw up. The next day, I drove home. The first thing I saw was her pile of presents. She’d wrapped them and when she finished, she sat down and never got up again. I wish I could’ve thanked her, told her how much her words meant to me. I thought I had more time but, out of nowhere, time ran out.”
‘She’s so beautiful.’ ‘Yeah, RIGHT. She’s Christian! You don’t have a chance.’: LGBTQ couple thrives despite hate, claim ‘love is so much stronger than words’
“Then, she slid in my inbox! ‘I dare you to come outside and kiss me.’ We met at the stairs, looked at each other, her hand softly grabbed my face. Her lips felt like my missing puzzle piece. Everyone told us it wouldn’t work, that same-sex couples were an abomination. I’m so glad I didn’t listen. When you know, you know.”
‘Are you a boy or a girl?’ My daughter responded with the craziest look on her face. ‘I’m a girl!’ I knew she was gay. I always knew she was ‘different.’
“By the time she was 4, her tomboy phase became something different. I remember getting her ready for school. ‘Mom, I want to dress like a girl today!,’ she said. I went out to the living room and told my husband to ‘not make a big deal about what she was wearing.’ He was her protector.”
‘I came out during my valedictorian speech. For years, I kept my secret hidden until it ate away at my conscience. I cut everyone off, paranoid they’d notice.’
“I was taught that men do not cry, so all of my emotions were kept inside. When the day came, I was extremely nervous. I changed my mind over 15 times. I was sweating and told myself I couldn’t do it. But I knew I had to.”
‘I know you’re a boy,’ she whispered, kissing my forehead. I’d be able to start my senior year comfortable with myself.’: High school senior comes out as ‘transgender’ and begins transition
“My eyes widened. I hid who I was and planned to never tell a soul. I quietly started my visits at a clinic in Boston, and I was prescribed testosterone during the summer. This was a huge moment for me! This led to a scary leap. I had to publicly come out as transgender to my peers.”
