I grew up in a small liberal city in Upstate New York amongst a community of mostly accepting and welcoming people. My coming-out process was probably dissimilar to the struggle and shame many individuals experience during this pivotal period. I was blessed to have supportive parents, a forward-thinking extended family, and a circle of friends who were both queer and straight. Although early into my development as an “out” gay male I stood witness to discrimination and shame experienced by former partners and friends of mine, this was not representative of my own maturation.

I moved to California when I was 19 – more specifically, to the San Francisco bay area. It was there that I developed a more colorful understanding of true diversity of ideas, people, sexualities, and ways of interaction. I became friends with queer people of color, individuals who identify as trans, and learned verbiage that dismisses sexual and gender binaries and conformity. I volunteered my time event planning for a LGBTQ “youth space” in the south bay, from which many members represented the impoverished and homeless queer population in that area.

It was during this time that I felt my understanding of what it means to be a queer person in America was exponentially expanded – with the many backgrounds of sexuality, race, socioeconomic status, and culture all coming together to form a colorful picture of experiences.