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#MyStoryOutLoud | a project of Advocates for Youth
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As we recognize #lgbthistory Month, #comingout for me was a very interesting experience. I decided to write my parents a note and did not want them to talk about it with me until the next day. At the point that I decided that I needed to come out. I was confident in who I was and who I want it to be. when my parents ended up looking at the letter my mom was more worried because I identify as #pansexual and she did not completely know what that was and she was just used to people saying that they were #gay, #lesbian, #bisexual, and #transgender.

My mother worried for my mental health because at the time and still today we’re still dealing with some homophobia. My dad mostly agreed with my mom but really had no words to describe of how he felt.  my story is a very unique but simple story and I understand that others go through different issues of coming out, but I always remind people when I tell my story that there is always Support that is out there when you’re ready to tell your story. 

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Stephon Camp

They/Them He/Him

Louisville, KY

Youth Activist Alliance

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Coming out was never something that I thought I would do. Growing up in a homophobic and religious household, I had decided that I was going to come out when I moved out of my parent’s home, but fate decided otherwise. At age 15 I was “forced” to come out because my mother found a hickey on my neck after hanging out with one of my “friends” lol. That was one of the best yet scariest days of my life because although it felt like a huge weight was off my shoulders, another weight was added on because I knew my home was not affirming. 

Looking back, outing myself was one of the best things that I could have done. Although things were rough at first, my family eventually learned to love and accept me for myself. Through the years I have learned about my own sexuality and gender identity. Although it’s been a rollercoaster ride, it’s a ride that I love. Coming out is not something that just happens once. Not only do you come out to other people, but you also come out to yourself. Sexuality and gender is fluid and this is something that I’m still learning and accepting about myself every single day. 

No matter if you are out or not, give yourself time. Your experiences are valid. You do not have to be certain of everything that you are feeling right now. As a Black, queer, and non-binary woman who first came out as a lesbian, it takes time. Give yourself grace, time, and love. Happy national coming out day!“

Yours from afar, 

Khouri. 

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as soon as i turned 14, i spent that entire year figuring stuff out. i knew that my mother was not going to be NOT accepting but i just didn’t know how to approach it. i had never said it out loud.

it was the summer before high school and i was like i need to come out because i’m not going to be closeted in high school, i wanna be myself.

i told my sister in march 2018 after we saw “love, simon.” i told my mother may 15, 2018.

that morning i woke up and was like “i’m gonna tell her today.” she was at work and i couldn’t wait until she got home. so i thought it was easier to tell her through text so she could read when she was alone. i remember her texting back, “i love you and are you ok?” that was because in middle school, i was teased a lot. my mother and i have always been close. she is even more protective now. 

when i got the steps of the school, i told my friends that i came out to my mother and started to cry. i felt free.

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I’ve known I was gay since kindergarten, but back then, I didn’t know the language to be able to truly express how I felt, nor was the environment safe enough to do so. As time progressed, I eventually came out sophomore year of high school, but accidentally outed myself on Facebook thanks to a school project.

Fast forward to present day, as I became more comfortable with my gender expression, it lead many to question my gender identity, with most of new folks just assuming that I’m trans. They say you can have multiple coming outs, which is true, because that common misconception lead to my finally come out as gender non-conforming, and to this day I proudly go by both he & she pronouns.

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Coming out is a continual process and I’ve come out as so many things since I was 12. While each coming out story had a different reaction from my friends and family, what has remained constant are the feelings of joy, relief, and peace that I felt as I began to live my life authentically and out loud!

In coming out, I’ve lost family, supports, and even homes but I’ve gained a greater sense of self, an amazingly welcoming community of folks with similar identities, and most of all, the ability to share my story unabridged.

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This message is for the YOUTH and YOUTHFUL.

As I reflect on #WorldAIDSDay, I think one of the most important messages that I want youth to take away from the celebration is knowing their truth and standing firm in it. It’s wild because it almost feels like I came out twice. The first time gave me life. The second coming out was my old body dying from what was my perception of what it means to be HIV-negative. While not said explicitly, society teaches you in many ways that being HIV-negative grants you many privileges, that being HIV-negative means that you have made the right choices thus far. “It couldn’t be me” is the mentality that I speak of.

According to Merck and the Prevention Access Campaign, approximately 23% of the survey participants stated that they either were “not at all informed” or “somewhat informed” about HIV.

Speaking only from my worldview and my experience—If you live in the South, from a reproductive health perspective, you more than likely had a mediocre class that spread stigmatizing language about HIV, which made you afraid. I know that was my experience.

I remember the bolder term in my Health book in seventh grade, and I remember how “dirty” I felt thinking about the word and how it must’ve been painful to live with.

Something that kills you slowly surely sounds like a curse.

But it was bittersweet for me.

My positive diagnosis unlocked a different part of myself that I was too afraid to tap into. I found my voice, my conviction to live and a purpose to thrive.

My family was my support, my mentors, everything that I could possibly ask for in reconstructing myself to live with a newly added identity, a new HEALTH CONDITION.

And when I say family, I’m not just talking about blood relatives. I’m talking about my brothers and sisters who also know that it can literally be….a hard pill to swallow.
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Toraje, Georgia

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According to a recent study by the Prevention Access Campaign and the pharmaceutical company Merck, 28 perfect of HIV negative people avoid hugging people living with HIV. The study uncovered widespread stigma from young people. We know that this is a direct result of the lack of sex ed that is inclusive and medically accurate.
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This is why ECHO exists. While there are young people reinforcing stigma, primarily due to misinformation, there are young people working to educate and support their communities in eliminating HIV stigma.
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ECHO is young, powerful and taking over! Join us in taking action today: https://actionnetwork.org/le…/update-hiv-policy-in-our-state

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I’ve been #undetectable for 3 years Now.
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I remember being first diagnosed and being so ashamed of myself as someone who has participated in so many programs designated towards HIV/STD prevention and awareness. I felt as someone who was already involved with spreading the message that I would be looked at as irresponsible or contradictory. I was ashamed, I didn’t tell anyone for a while. I was numb, I thought to myself “if I take my medicine and get to undetectable I’ll be fine. No one has to know.(besides anyone I was having sex with)” It wasn’t until my mom found my pill bottle that I was forced to tell her my situation.
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When I told my mom and stepdad, I felt I was letting my mom down. I felt that because of all the conversations we’ve had about HIV and my knowledge about how NOT to get it. After that, things in the house became intense.  
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I began to think that HIV could be spread through the most ignorant ways like: I was worried I could spread HIV by going to the Barbershop. I began to question everything I learned. Even knowing the accurate statistics! I began to worry about being that 1%! I BEGAN TO STIGMATIZE MYSELF!
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I chose to work in this field because I now understand the value of educating people on accurate information. I literally went from not caring at all. To standing up for the millions of gay black teenagers and young men that are at risk of transmission. I’ve worked with some incredibly intelligent, humble, passionate people. I’ve gotten to travel and work with people on a national level to bring awareness to stigma and policies that discriminate and criminalize HIV.
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I’m also standing up for all those who we lost to AIDS (which is not HIV). They went through a literal hell of medical confusion. And we now have access to tools to end HIV transmission for good! I’m happy to do what I do. And that’s because of WHO I AM.

Adonis, Milwaukee

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the U.S. Supreme Court will hear three cases that have the potential to drastically change the status of LGBT equality in the United States. LGBT people could soon find themselves living in a nation where federal law says it is legal for them to be denied a job, fired, discriminated against at school, denied a loan, rejected by a doctor, and evicted from an apartment, simply because they are LGBT.

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