By Barb Rowlandson In 2017, I joined the Alphabet Mafia, and let me tell you: flipping from the straight world into the Queer world is WILD. Up until my gay reckoning, I'd been with the same man for 24 years. My straight life went pretty much like this: Wake up Take...
https://youtu.be/p7G3_rh-BCs Internalized homophobia, heterosexism and compulsory heterosexuality are real issues and the reasons why this journey can be so hard! Learning about it and acknowledging it when it pops up can make all the difference in the world! I am a...
https://youtu.be/UVRqvk8kkRc The #1 things we can do for ourselves when we are coming out LGBTQIA+ is to find community. This changes everything as it decreases isolation and normalizes this experience. My wife Tonda McKay and I talk about many ways to find community...
https://youtu.be/KNsJa4WrQ1Q When our first LGBTQIA+ relationship ends, it can be heartbreaking. This person is not only a person we deeply cared about or love, they are also often tied to our developing queer identity. Join my wife Tonda McKay and I talk about...
By Elizabeth M., age 47 Elizabeth and I are good friends and she regaled me late summer with her tales of the lesbian dating scene. I asked her to write this piece for my blog. Dating is a numbers game and being open to all different types of women can be game...
Internalized Homophobia is when LGBTQIA+ people listen to negative messages about being gay – and believe them. While society has come a long way in accepting some members of the LGBTQIA+ family, negative messages about being not straight still persist. We...
All faith traditions have some version of this belief/value: We should love God, our neighbor, and ourselves. Many people who describe themselves as spiritual also believe some version of this as well. Remember the "golden rule?" Treat others as you...
When my therapist asked me how I identified (after coming out to her a second time) I tentatively said “bisexual” as previously I was only in relationships with men. Two weeks later I had changed my mind. No, I was not bisexual, I was only interested in women. As...
Several years ago I was desperate, I was in my third attempt to come out into the LGBTQIA+ community. I was fifty, married, mother of four, and a minister. I had struggled with my sexual orientation for most of my life, as glimpses of it would pop up like...
I have a secret to admit, but please don’t tell anyone. I used to have a very strong aversion to the word “coach”. My experiences with this word dates back to my non-athletic youth, when a parent would take on the responsibility of teaching a bunch of kids...
Architectural Photographer Tonda McKay is the guest author of this week’s blog. As a long time out lesbian, she has worked tirelessly for the LGBTQIA+ community. She believes deeply in the importance of National Coming Out Day not only for ourselves, but...
I had a major life transition - actually several - over the past four years. These include a divorce from my spouse of twenty-seven years; coming out as a lesbian at fifty; leaving a long held job; moving from my hometown (twice); starting a new life in ...