[CHAT] The ABCs of LGBT
There are so many ways in which people have realized their LGBT identity. Maybe you’ve known your whole life. Maybe you didn’t realise it was a thing until you found out about that identity. Or maybe it was a celebrity or character in your favourite movie/TV show who gave you those special feelings. Either way, LGBT identity is as diverse as the many ways in which people come out.
And yet, why can it be such a struggle to know who you are? It only takes one bite to figure out whether you’re a fan of coriander, or a few classes to figure out which school subjects you naturally excel at. So why can it take years, decades even, to figure out where on the LGBT spectrum you sit?
Figuring out your LGBT identity isn’t always as simple as deciding on your favourite flavours or school subjects. For one, not everyone has the most straightforward journey. Plenty of people may identify with different labels before settling on one permanently, and some might not want to label themselves altogether. Others might spend most of their lives not realizing until they have that mental breakthrough.
However sure (or unsure) you might be in your sexual or gender identity, having a community or a space to talk about it can be so helpful, and not just for figuring out where you sit on the LGBT spectrum! Considering that LGBT young people have some of the worst rates of mental health among their peers, helping the LGBT community feel safe and accepted is something we all should work towards, regardless of how we identify.
That’s why we’re opening up a GR session on gender and sexual identity! Regardless of whether you’re 100% sure or 5% sure in your sexual identity, come and join us at 8pm AEST on Monday the 25th of July to talk about the ins and outs of being LGBT
There can be a lot of stigma associated with being LGBT+, what can we do to change this?
I think normalising LGBT identities has already gone a long way in reducing the stigma, but it's a little uneven in terms of which identities get the most representation, and how the average gay/lesbian/bi/trans person is expected to look. Contrary to what the media says, it is possible to be LGBT and be a person of colour/have a disability/not be skinny, etc.
I also think that mental health services and health services in general should be more aware of their history in perpetuating LGBT stigma, and be more proactive in tailoring their services to LGBT folx. In some places and for some people, finding a health professional who isn't homophobic is a struggle, let alone a provider who is well-versed in LGBT health
@safari93 LGBT+ awareness in mental health and other health is defnitely a huge issue! So little of it get's taught while people are qualifying to work in these fields, it needs to get to a point where it's a required part of learning to do the job rather than an optional piece of extra learning.
So we've touched on the effect of stigma on mental health already, so let's get a bit deeper into it:
Mental health is a big issue for young LGBT+ Australians, who experience mental health issues at a higher rate than their straight peers. What do you think needs to change to combat this?
Hey Hey!
Mental health is a big issue for young LGBT+ Australians, who experience mental health issues at a higher rate than their straight peers. What do you think needs to change to combat this?
Safe Schools, for starters. So more education that it is okay to be different, to be unique. Basically love an acceptance.
@stonepixie Heya! Big yes to keeping the Safe Schools program - not to get all political but it's one thing I'm really proud of my state government for committing to, despite all the backlash from the ultra-religious conservative types
Decreased gender segregation in schools, more freedom in regards to uniform and activities, exposure to adults who are LGBT, queer-inclusive sex ed.
@PercivalCox YES! Uniforms are a really important point which no one has mentioned yet. (Welcome to ReachOut btw!)
Thanks to everyone who's welcomed me. 🙂
I re-joined ReachOut specifically for this conversation, so yeah.
I'm a trans dude, so the uniform thing is very close to my heart. Luckily for me, I was so unaware of my gender during school that I didn't consciously experience much dysphoria. However, I now experience a lot of sadness, because I think I would have been much happier had I been able to wear the boys' uniform. It hurts because my memories of how I was at school don't fit with who I am now. I even have dreams about being back and school and either being a) super happy because I'm wearing the boys' uniform (and then really distressed when I wake up), or b) frustrated and confused, because I'm a 'girl' again.
Also, I'm bi. My school acknowledged homosexuality a bit, but as for any kind of non-monosexual identity, that was completely lacking. I think it's changing now, but when I was first coming out (as bi), it was something that I still felt was stigmatised. I still get comments about how I must 'actually be gay', or have my decision to identify as bi, when I could technically identify as pansexual, questioned. As well as this, I experienced a lot of dysphoria (and still do, at times) because my trans experience wasn't 'typical'.
So I think further acknowledgment and discussion of the breadth of the queer community, and the diversity of our experiences would go a long way - not just from queer people to the cishet community, but also within the community itself.
@PercivalCox are there some steps we can take in this little community of ours to help with this?
Thank you for sharing your story 🙂
No problem about sharing, that's how it all gets better, right?
I'd suggest maybe doing some mythbusting fact sheets? Like, busting notions about what you 'have' to do to be 'queer enough' or 'trans enough', and also some links to articles and videos. And by this, I don't just mean in the broadest sense (because obviously those identities can be very broad, which is important to acknowledge), but also more specific situations.
The thing that helped me with accepting that I was 'trans enough' was when I came across this compilation video about being 'not trans enough'. It was so good, I used to watch it a lot. Unfortunately, that particular video doesn't seem to be on youtube any more, but maybe you could suggest people contribute to a similar compilation on here?
I don't know how much of this stuff you may've already done, so sorry if I'm flogging a dead horse. I haven't had a proper search of this site for ages. I just wanted to put my thoughts out there.
Hope some of it helps. 🙂
That's great @PercivalCox thank you 🙂
Would you be okay if i tagged you in the occasional post in this forum where someone exploring their identity might have some questions or need support?
Hey @PercivalCox, welcome!
Representation of LGBT+ experiences in sex ed is a huge priority! Providing only heteronormative experience for students definitely impacts negatively on mental health and it needs to change.
Mental health is a big issue for young LGBT+ Australians, who experience mental health issues at a higher rate than their straight peers. What do you think needs to change to combat this?
I think this can be answered similarly to the stigma question - better representation and education will create a more supportive environment, thus reducing the burden of mental health issues in the community
I hadn't considered the role of health services @safari93 but that's so true! I suggested education in schools but there certainly needs to be education on these issues right through into university degrees too
Hi @Buzzlightyear, I love your username 😛
That's definitely a great point, there's not a whole lot of knowledge generally around non binary identites for most people, which can absolutely make the coming out process more difficult. It would be great if we can get to a point where all LGBT+ identites are treated with respect an equal to one another 🙂
Welcome to the conversation @Buzzlightyear! 🙂 that's definitely a good point about the lack of awareness of non-binary identities
We've touched on this a little already, so let's open this up a bit more:
There can be a lot of stigma associated with being LGBT+, what can we do to change this?
II think it's really important to pull up friends and family when they try to use LGBT+ as the butt of a joke, let them know that it's not okay.
There can be a lot of stigma associated with being LGBT+, what can we do to change this?
- More awareness
- Better media representation
- Education in schools
- Calling people out when they're making homophobic/transphobic comments
@Chessca_H I agree, education is so, so important.
@lokifish I think more awareness, like you said, would really help to normalise the idea of being LGBT+ Even positive responses to coming out often tend to make it into such a big deal, not just an everyday thing. Our lives are so inherently politicised.
And yeah, if they could stop killing all of our media representation that would be nice.
@DruidChild Yeah I think sometimes people tend to over-react in a positive way, thinking that they need to balance out all the negative overreactions that often occur. Both can be damaging though - if we want to send the message that having a different sexual/gender identity isn't a big deal and doesn't determine your worth as a person then "coming out" needs to be treated like any other everyday thing
There can be a lot of stigma associated with being LGBT+, what can we do to change this?
@N1ghtW1ng and @MsHarry have touched on this a little already, but education! A big part of the stigma is caused by stereotypes that are perpetuated through a lack of knoweldge about what it's like to be LGBT+, so by doing a lot of mythbusting at a societal level hopefully changes can be made.
