Coming out is an important step in queer people’s lives. The wish to live fully and proudly is often clouded by the fear of alienation or of putting our safety at risk. Moreover, the weight of hiding part of our identity is frequently wrapped around feelings of shame and self-doubt.

It is important to find people who have gone through this same experience, who you can relate to and even get a different perspective from. With this goal in mind, the ‘Coming Out: Share your experience’ event came to be. In a full room, the conversation started off by debating Cass’ identity model regarding the stages of coming out, and from there we started sharing our own experiences and struggles.

From people who lacked representation so they did not know it was possible not to be straight but be gay or bisexual, to issues with acceptance from friends and family members, or even uneventful and fully accepting coming out stories, it was quite a diverse sharing circle. By the end of it, one thing was clear – even though very different stories were told, we all have something in common, and we are not so much of an exception to the rule as some people paint us to be.
Thank you to all of you who came out and helped make this a beautiful event. We hope to see you all very soon!

LGL is carrying out the 10-month project “Disappearing Borders: Empowering LGBT Community and Allies In Lithuania” under the Erasmus+ program EVS (European Voluntary Service).