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Meeting other LGBT people in college

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by twospiritlycan, Sep 3, 2014.

  1. How hard is it to meet another person who may be LGBT?

    Is their a certain method to starting conversations? I'm not good at all with talking to people.

    What can I do to not feel scared at expressing myself more at school? I know that shouldn't be the most important because classes are important, but I feel like wanting to express myself more. It's becoming more comfortable to me even though I'm still scared at the idea.
     
  2. Oddish

    Oddish Guest

    Does your university have an LGBT group of some sort? That's the easiest way to meet other people. If not, it may pose as a bit of a challenge trying to find people who are LGBT mainly because of stigma and not everyone will be announcing their sexuality and/or gender identity. If your university doesn't have a group, you could possibly work on creating one, too.

    As for expressing yourself more, take small steps. Maybe wear a small item of clothing such as a necklace or a bracelet that you like, and work up from there. If your school has an anti-discrimination possibly, that'd probably take some of the edge off expressing yourself.
     
  3. stormborn

    Full Member

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    i think most colleges have some sort of GSA/Pride/LGBTQ+ group. you can probably ask for information in the area for student help (like the counselling centre, the sexual assault centre, student wellness centre, etc).

    i agree with Oddish about the small item of clothing, or other small indicators, like a sticker on your laptop/notebook or a button on your backpack. personally, have a small pride flag in my dorm room in a noticeable place, so people see it when they come into my room.

    about striking up conversation, if you ever see someone with something pride-related (like a bracelet or whatever) maybe just say something like "i like your bracelet. are you involved with the college lgbtq+ group?/do you know if there is a lgbtq+ club here?/etc." i'd avoid being too upfront about it. again from personal experience, i don't try to hide my sexual orientation (though i keep the gender a little more on the down-low). i don't hide the gender of my previous partners, i join in conversations about attractive females and males, i tell people about my engagement in lgbtq+ organizations.

    though i do live in an extremely accepting area, so i don't know how applicable this advice is to you if your area is more conservative!