So I was thinking of joining the GSA next year, but I'm afraid if I join people will assume I'm gay and I'll end up being outed. I'm also afraid that there won't be many people in it, and I'll just be awkwardly sitting there. So...in your school, are there/were there alot of straight people in the GSA, or was it mostly LGBT+ students that were involved in it? Is it typically a popular club? Also, what kinds of things do you do in the GSA? Thanks :smilewave
Just a thought - not necessarily about GSA clubs in general, but about what you might do - perhaps you could contact the head of the club and tell them how you're feeling, that you'd like to be involved but aren't sure about going public. I'm sure you wouldn't be the first, and maybe they'd have some ideas about how you could stay involved otherwise.
I hate to say it but I remember that when I was in high school everyone assumed that it was the guys in the group were gay. Most people just assumed the some were just there cause they like gay guys or something. Even though the only out gay guys I knew were not even part of the group.
Dooooo it!! It's okay to have fears going in. You might have to go to a lot of meetings before you feel completely comfortable with the group. I went to a group in university and I can say we never really stated our orientations. Some people I knew for a few years before I learned where they landed on the spectrum. The group I went to talked about outing people, it was a rule to not out people in public. We had about 20ish members at a time. Some of those people were our regulars and others would just drop by once in awhile. We did all kinds of things in our group. We had discussions like 'being queer in your hometown', 'being queer on campus', 'being queer at work'. We also had presentations on all the various identities out there, trans 101 information sessions, and plenty of guest speakers. Sometimes we played board games, watched movies, went on outings, or collaborated with other campus groups. We often responded to the needs of the people in our group, someone wanted a mental health night so we invited a counselor from the counselling centre to talk to us and give us resources. We always had a good time, the people are great, I made lots of friends there. If I was to give you any advice going into the GSA I would say these things: -It might take you awhile to warm up to the group, so keep coming back even if you're unsure what you think after 1-2 meetings -Try to get involved with helping out. There are usually small volunteer opportunities you will collaborate with others on (e.g. making posters, promoting the gsa at an event). This will allow you to bond with other members and be one step closer to finding/making friends. -Don't be afraid to ask a new friend to have lunch with you it will give you some one-on-one time perhaps.
Thank you! One of my fears is that because my sister usually likes to join the same clubs I join, (and she would find out I'm in it eventually, even if I don't tell her) she might be a little confused about why I'm interested in joining the GSA, and I'm not entirely ready to come out to her yet (even though I'm sure she has an idea that I'm not straight).
