Coming Out Stories

Becca and Kat talk about their experiences of being bullied, misunderstood, and also supported by friends and family when they “came out” about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

For all videos:

  • What did you see in the video?
  • What do you think this video was about?
  • What stood out to you the most in this video?

For this video:

  • What was the process of coming out like for both of these individuals?
  • Are families and friends always accepting? Why or why not?
  • How does it feel when friends and family are not accepting of who you are? (This doesn’t just have to be about sexuality, encourage students to think about the ways prejudice impacts their lives even if they are cis-heterosexual.)
  • What are the ways in which people can make a strong support system for themselves if and when they need to come out? What are the ways in which an ally can make it safe for an LGBTQ+ person to come out?
  • What are some LGBTQ+ support places on your campus? (If there are none, how can you create some? What are some barriers you might have in creating this space?)

Materials needed: strips of paper, markers

Step 1.
Dedicate a space in your classroom wall for student-created hashtags.

Step 2.
Give each student a strip of paper and ask them to come up with an anonymous hashtag that’s related to LGBTQ+ rights and write it neatly on their strip. Have them post it on the designated wall space.*

Step 3.
Encourage them to write a social media post related to LGBTQ+ rights, use their hashtag, and encourage their followers to reuse their hashtag.

Step 4.
Check in with them in two weeks to see who has the highest amount of reposted hashtags. Award a prize for the top 3 winners.

*Note: If you notice a disrespectful/vulgar hashtag, don’t take it down. Instead, lead a class discussion about it. Have all students chime in and express what they think about it.

Materials needed: copies of real Dear Abby letters, paper, pen

Step 1.
Break students into groups of five to six.

Step 2.
Give each group a different problem letter that was written to Dear Abby in search of LGBTQ-related advice. The group members have to pretend that they are Abby and write a letter of response to their problem. When everyone is done writing, read one problem letter at a time. Ask students to share how they responded.

OR:

Step 1.
Ask all students to write a letter to Dear Abby that describes an LGBTQ+ situation/dilemma.

Step 2.
Collect all letters, mix them up and distribute them to random students. Tell everyone to pretend they are now Dear Abby and they must read and answer the letter with the best advice they could come up with. Ask student volunteers to share the letter they received and the advice response they came up with.