Jace: At what age did you come out? (to yourself and/or others)

Landon: [O]riginally I came out as a lesbian at 14/15 years old. I came out to my friends first [and] they were fine for the most part, but one of my friends told her mother; they were very close, and her mother was really religious in the Lutheran faith. I was at the mall during pride month at 15 with my mom [and] it was the day I was planning on coming out to her by showing her a pride shirt they had at Hot Topic. I chickened out after running into my friend who was with her mom [and] my mom got to chatting with her mom as we ventured away. I came back and turns out my friends [sic] mom, outted me to my mom [and] I had been dating a girl and things didn’t go well. We never brought it up ever again. Just swept it under the rug. My family is very religious, in the Roman [C]atholic faith, so not great. The second time I came out at 18 as a trans man. My mom threatened me with homelessness [and] I was scared back into the closet until I was 22. I came back out at 22 [and] haven’t looked back. I’m 26 now [and] things are better in all areas of my life. My mom knows, I am on testosterone, [and] live on my own. Recently became employed. Things are better.

J: Do you feel supported in your home and environment?

L: Not at first, but since moving out of my mom’s house, it’s a billion times better.

J: Are you comfortable sharing a time when you were harassed/abused for your identity? How did you react?

L: [T]he only real time I was ever abused or harassed was online. I was dating a cis girl and this cis guy, who had a crush on her, got upset and found out I was trans and tried to blast me online. She played it cool [and] turned it on him saying “[Y]ou don’t think he told me he was trans? Also you do realize acting out [and] being an asshole makes you inferior in my eyes.” The second part is paraphrased, but the first part was accurate, she truly put him in his place [and] also screwed up his shot at ever getting a date with her.

J: What do you wish cisallohet folks understood about your identity and the community as a whole?

L: Just that we aren’t so different. Just cause you’re confused doesn’t mean I’m no different in other aspects. I still need to eat, breathe, bathe, etc. I’m human [and] I am more then just my genitals.

J: A lot of corporations are adding rainbows to their logos and expressing support for the LGBT community. Do you feel this is a sincere effort to support the community? If not, what do you feel would be a better step to take?

L: I feel that it is a nicety but in reality it’s all about money. When I was a teenager and came out as a lesbian first hot topic didn’t even carry pop culture stuff that wasn’t horror movie related. It was very gothic, so pride gear was nowhere. It was a lonely time, but now it’s nice to be able to go to a store like Target [and] pick up a hat or tee meant for LGBTQ+ pride. Honestly I think it would be a better step if they would donate money or team up with a LGBTQ+ organization and make a collaborative effort of products for people to buy and use the profits for the organization. I’m not even asking for 100% of the money to go to charity, but even 30% would be fantastic [be]cause every dollar counts. I’m proud and happy with the progress we have made from the time I was a confused teenager to now, it helps expose heteronormative/cisgender people to accept it better, [and] we are on our way to making the future better for LGBTQ+ youth, but still lots of progress to make.