Despite gains made in many parts of the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people are, in some regions, increasingly persecuted and denied basic human rights. Because bigotry thrives where we are silenced by fear, we've created this space for people to share stories of discrimination and survival. Read these stories, share them, and contribute your own. Let the world know that we will not be silent.
“My purpose by coming out to you today as a survivor of childhood sexual violence is to tell my story with the hope that no child in your life or mine ever experiences the sexual abuse that I and countless of other people in this world have experienced.”
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“Just like the National Geographic photo encouraged a lot of trans people and let them feel like they could transition, video games did that for me.”
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“I DIDN’T KNEW I WAS GAY, BUT I LIKED BOYS, SO I WAS AN ABOMINATION.”
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““My dear Richard was my neighbor, finding him, ‘He was the boy next door’ As our relationship truly blossomed to love”
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“i don’t fit into the typical stereotypes of queer, i’m not super femm, i’m not butch, i’m not edgy or unique or anything like that”
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“Coming to terms with being gay as a child was pure hell.”
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“My journey started with fear and others knowing my attraction was for boys, trying to change, trying to fit, ran away unable to accept who I was”
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“As a child who was bullied in Hong Kong and later as an immigrant in the USA, my roots were immersed in experiences of homophobia and xenophobia.”
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“Since I had already experimented and enjoyed teenage sexual excursions with other boys, I knew that she was talking to me, and that was enough to put me in the closet.”
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“Someone like me is always OK. Or at least that’s what I tell people.”
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“Being gay and HIV positive in Kenya is hell on earth. You get rejected by fellow queer men and society.”
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“Now I am FREE, FREE TO BE MYSELF. I AM HAPPY!”
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“Married 20 years to a male, I had a child and 2 grandsons, I had no idea I was bisexual until I was divorced.”
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“The homophobic behaviors I have experienced in my life have been subtle and over, intentional and unintentional”
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“I haven’t always been a man, and I haven’t always been a woman, but I have always been a pain in the ass.”
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“Growing up in rural Louisiana is unlike everything in the world – beauty beyond what I can describe. But the culture surrounding me was much different.”
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“There is love between Robert and I”
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“At times the fight to be who I am now becoming was something that pushed me to the point of suicide. I thought that it was my only way out of the body I knew I didn’t belong in.”
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“My eldest brother was my father figure, and so he took the responsibility of SCOLDING me, time and time again.”
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“My name is Wambi Erukana. I am 19 years from Uganda. I am a the last born out of the 6 children in my family. My late father was monogamous. My mom passed away as a result of Hypertension 8 years after I was born. I was the raised by a single parent who later … READ THE STORY
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“as a senior gay man not everything is sunshine, many clouds follow me around but thanks to the love and understanding of my parents, my family, and good friends I am able to survive attitudes and situations”
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“I decided to forgive my parents for not accepting my sexualty. i forgive them, however, resent the christian faith because it robbed me of my parents.”
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“My entire life I’ve felt WRONG! An outsider! I never related to the considered ‘NORM’.”
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“Despite all this I am smiling through the rain for I know there are so many LGBTQ young folks who look at me as their source of strength and inspiration.”
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“I’ve never had a sexual attraction to someone, and even though i’m sex positive, i’ve never been in a deep enough relationship to consider doing so.”
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“our Biggest revenge at A present Day timeline, Is Existing when we’re told Not to.”
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“I remember now as it was only yesterday, how my father for years used to physically and psychologically abuse me just because of my appearance and thoughts.”
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“This world has not been kind to me, As I discovered who I was…a Black transwoman.”
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“This is a statement that fits Connie and my personal and political activism though Connie became an activist.”
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“It was a struggle but as I grew older I had to stand my ground and let them l know I’m not changing this is me accept it or not.”
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“I don’t need your permission to exist
I don’t owe you my story
I don’t owe you shit”
“Being who you are is not a choice. You have to choose to not let the indifference and rejection break you. You have to choose that in not being loved that you don’t stop holding space for love.”
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“A stranger grabbed me and put a knife to my throat. He said he hates faggots, thank goodness another group of men saw what was happening and got they guys off me.”
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“Promise yourself tonight you’ll never give up, and to never leave any stone unturned. You’ve always known your purpose, you’ve always known who you are.”
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“Pride is supposed to be liberating: love who you want. I wanted to love, period, but started to think that if I couldn’t do it in a sexual way, something was wrong with me.”
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“Oh my womanhood was forged in the fires of self acceptance, tempered by desire and brought up in a home of love, raised in fear”
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“I guess as a child I felt there was something wrong with me. I would have nightmares. I guess I was in hell or would go to hell because deep down I know I was gay.”
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“I WAS BORN IN A CONSERvative FAMily, WE I WAS TAUght THAT HOMOSEXual ACT IS SIN.”
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“Having to shave a beard before getting my period left me a fairly confused child.”
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“I always felt that I’m different but at the same time felt i’m normal because that’s who i’m.”
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“Paul and I were friends and partners for about 7 years, we were both gay, motorcyclist and traveled around a lot. He traveled in his work & both of traveled together and separately. Chicago, Milwaukee, St Louis, Minneapolis , Indy, Nashville, KC, MO +++ In fall of 1983 he got pneumonia that turned out to … READ THE STORY
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“Life is full of sacrifices and the unfortunate reality for many LGBT youth is that they have to sacrifice so many things just to live authentically. For me, I’ve had to sacrifice the love of my father.”
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“When I lived in Venezuela I developed depression and anxiety since I was 16, of course due to many reasons, but mostly because I wasn’t able to accept myself as trans.”
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“So many people hated, dislike, talked about and made fun of me, I just thought oh this is it, nothing else today I guess”
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“I am more than your expectations
Having to do daily Affirmations”
“He just won’t understand how happy I am with this girl.”
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“my gym teacher motivated the bullying in the gym classes telling me in front of everyone to not act like a ‘pussy’.”
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“We have shared and cared for one another ever since in my vigor muscles bulging I gave my heart and soul to him eternally.”
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“My name is Victoria Cruz. Born male, in Guánica, Puerto Rico. Known as Boriquén, before the Europeans came to the Caribbean. My real name was Victor Cruz, one of 11 children. I found out that I was really female at an early age. After the second World War, my father moved to Brooklyn, New York … READ THE STORY
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“I’ve been chased down street and mocked and beaten for who I am. It only made me stronger and made me fight for my rights and those of others to exist and live free.”
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