Coming Out Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Moving Story of India’s First Gay Athlete

By : Madhurima Das June 8, 2020 Comments Off

Dutee Chand – the name that defies all stereotypes. A trailblazer athlete, this ace Indian sprinter has been scripting history in the international sports scene since 2012. Known as the golden girl of India, her remarkable tale of triumph and glory inspires the new generation of sportspersons. Lauded for her professional achievements globally, her home truths have been the centre of undue attention. Humiliated and slammed for her personal “choices”, India’s first openly gay sportsperson, Chand’s life has always been under a microscope. This is her story of coming out in a rather conservative society where being gay is a subject of ridicule and mockery. Early on in her career, Chand fell victim to “Hyperandrogenism”, a clinical condition subjecting her to controversies and ostracization. Her body produced higher levels of

Falling in Love with My Best Friend

By : Willem Van Roosenbeek June 1, 2020 Comments Off

I met my best friend in college during Bible Study at the Newman Center across the street from the University. Weekly, we would attend Bible Study and Sunday night mass. The more I got to know her the more I wanted to know. She was funny, but also serious, and deep. She had beautiful eyes, and short brown curly hair, and her smile was Pretty soon we started to study together, eat meals together, hang out,talk all night long, and I felt like I have known her forever. Both of us were raised Catholic, were first generation college students, and Therapeutic Recreation majors. Looking back, I think it was obvious to most people that we were dating. However, we were both oblivious to what was happening. I walked a different

Do You Like Girls?

By : Nife Howls May 19, 2020 Comments Off

She said it so flatly, as if it was another time and space completely, “Do you like girls?” I was sixteen, I think. Yea. Sixteen, and so far from my true self that at this present day I’d have to say that she was a ghost of some sort. A ghost of what’s left after adolescence, collecting any pieces of personality, however ill-fitting. How did the ghost respond? I think she said something like, ‘Sometimes.’ Which of course would be the most reasonable and literally factual response available to the ghost at the time. Which I suppose would have meant, “the best armored response that wasn’t aggressive or offensive.” Misleading? Maybe, but what could be expected? I mean this was probably the gayest human being I’d been within a few

I didn’t come out. Gay just happened.

By : Angie Williams May 19, 2020 01 Comment

Why I never really came out in the traditional sense. Trigger warning: this article discusses substance abuse, mental health and suicidal ideation. If you asked me to describe my life from ages 15 to 23, I’d tell you that those were the worst eight years of my life that I wish I could forget. If you asked other people they’d say that I went to summer college at Syracuse University, damn near a full ride to college where I finished a five-year degree in four and a half and that I went to and completed graduate school at Columbia University. Pretty big disconnect right? Hindsight is always 20/20 but at the time I couldn’t see that I was masking my pain with accomplishments so everyone around me would focus on

Coming out in India: How to Tackle the Dilemma?

By : AroonaBanerjie May 19, 2020 Comments Off

Being an Asian, it’s inherent that I belong to a community that is very strict and conservative about the way matters of family are curated and concerned. When it comes to sexuality,at school, we aren't taught much how to deal with an umbrella topic that has such a wide scope and nuances. Having a friend in high school who was gay, taught me an important lesson in life: how does a person deal with something so delicate and how can one's life revolve around it entirely. This friend was Jai, who was an average shy Indian boy, always used to get awkward amongst our group; which consisted of many guys. When we were in our early adolescence, we just deemed him as an introvert, who doesn't like to mess with

I Knew I Had A Non-Binary Gender Identity In Kindergarten

By : Kylé Graden May 19, 2020 Comments Off

Bullying became my norm, and the bathrooms and locker rooms, where teachers were nowhere to be found, became dangerous. This article was featured in the HuffPost Beyond Binaries series on March 15, 2017 after the Trump Administration rescinded protections for transgender students under Title IX. Given that protections for transgender students have just been rescinded at the federal level, our youth that are afraid of the consequences of coming out need a voice. Here is my story. It was 1997. I was five. That’s when I first had to make the decision on which bathroom to use. I was in gym class, with a basketball between my feet, when suddenly nature was calling. In fact, she was banging at the door. Normally I would have used the single stall bathroom

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Category: Coming Out