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. 

.

Stephon Camp

They/Them He/Him

Louisville, KY

Youth Activist Alliance

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. 

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.

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.

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.

young people living with HIV deserve:

laws with criminalize HIV are rooted in ignorance and serve only to divert attention and resources from real strategies to end the epidemic

that’s why for #AIDSAwarenessWeek we are pushing our state representatives to improve outdated HIV/AIDS policies so they are not rooted in stigma and fear of decades past. . click the link to take action.

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. . Toraje, Georgia

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. . 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. . ECHO is young, powerful and taking over! Join us in taking action today: https://actionnetwork.org/le…/update-hiv-policy-in-our-state

I’ve been #undetectable for 3 years Now. . 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. . 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.   . 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! . 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. . 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

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.

Protect Trans Health today by submitting a comment to ProtectTransHealth.org

During the 12th annual observance of National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, NYHAAD Ambassadors and youth activists reaffirmed that young people receive poor quality of care due to stigma, lack of healthcare providers’ awareness, and insensitivity to the unique needs of this community.

Our young people highlighted the challenges faced by young people living with and vulnerable to HIV, offered insight on how they thrive, and enhanced the awareness among physicians, policymakers, and youth-serving organization staff, etc. about the existing disparities in order to provide a more comprehensive, competent evidence-based care to this community.

I remember a #health class in high #school in which the lesson that day was about #HIVtransmission routes and the instructor informed us that HIV could be transmitted through a can of soda. Shocked, I politely, yet firmly, let him know that that was absolutely untrue. After going back and forth for a while, I realized that my point would not get across to my instructor. Fortunately, my classmates listened and affirmed me and that was all that truly mattered.

As someone who was born to a mother living with HIV, I was exposed to conversations and information that many of my peers were shielded from. I thought of myself as a natural-born activist because of my situation, and it was important to me that others have medically accurate information.

People tend to have a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to comprehensive sexual health education, discussions about access to condoms, and prevention methods such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-daily pill regimen that can help a person remain HIV-negative. Young people are often infantilized and denied proper, life-saving information because it goes against the supposed morals of their parent or medical provider.

The support that I received from my peers about HIV misconceptions reflect studies that show that young people themselves are dissatisfied with the state of #sexeducation. They know they’re being left in the dark, so when they reach out to to satisfy their inevitable curiosity, we must ensure they’re getting facts, not fantasy.

Jamanii, New Orleans

LGBT Health Awareness week highlights challenges faced by LGBT youth, offers insight on how they thrive, & enhances the awareness among physicians, policy makers, etc. about the existing disparities in order to provide competent care. Download the social media toolkit here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bcI03GQ1-iApi3UgTOvQtQnbNlI6ZYQM

The Category Is... Happy International Womxn’s Day

“Being an immigrant in the U.S. is hard.”

Tonight on @rupaulofficial @rupaulsdragrace Mercedes Iman Diamond, the first Muslim Drag Queen on the show, got candid about her experiences in the U.S. as an immigrant. Originally from Mombasa, Kenya, Mercedes noted that “I used to travel a lot [for pageants]. It was just like so hard for me to fly that I ended up like, I used to drive state to state for shows.”

“They put me on a no-fly list, I used to be for a long time.” Mercedes notes that this was most likely due to her name and the current political climate.

“Because my name sounded “Muslim” they put me on a watch list.” I was like I’m a drag queen, what am I going to do?!”

“Because I couldn’t fly I was on the road all the time, to the extent of fainting during a show and having to use a wheelchair.”

The watchlist is a part of the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database that has long been challenged for it's "bloated, discriminatory, and unfair" practices.

The @aclu_nationwide believes the No-Fly List to be unconstitutional and is challenging the process in court. There is a process to remove yourself from the watchlist, and Mercedes says she's no longer on it.

Sylvester James, who performed as “Sylvester,” is an extraordinary figure in LGBTQ history. He became the first, and perhaps only, gay “disco diva.”

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, he was an unapologetically queer presence in an era not very warm to LGBTQ voices, an artist who embraced the gender spectrum decades before ‘gender queer’ became part of the national conversation.

At the age of 41 #Sylvester died of AIDS-related complication but his voice, videos, and songs continue to inspire us all to dream, sing, and dance as free as we can. For instance, he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical.

In December 2016, #Billboard magazine ranked him as the 59th most successful dance artist of all-time.