LGBT STORIES

George Ashiotis started going blind when he was 5 years old. When he was a teenager, he worked at Lighthouse as an assistant counselor, helping younger visually impaired teens. After helping his sister dye her hair black, he ended up going to work with black fingernails, leading to his first experience of homophobia.

In 2010 Tyler Clementi took his own life after being publicly outed on the Internet by his college roommate. His oldest brother James, who is also gay, is now an activist hoping to shape a world that's more accepting and inclusive of LGBTQ people.

In her youth Elicia Gonzalez from Broomfield, Colorado, experienced a shocking exposure to Prince that would become "very much so representative of what would happen with my sexuality later in life."

Mandeep Jangi of Middlesex, New Jersey, cites his Sikh faith as the "more visible aspect" of his identity. His decision to cut his hair (long hair is a traditional part of Sikh culture) was the first step to discovering his own individual identity.

Do you remember your first Pride event? Kayleigh certainly does, along with the impact that participating in Dyke March with her family had on her life.

What was your first impression of the gay community? For Tom Wicker it was illness, death, and filth.

It might not come as a surprise to you that Noah Michelson, Executive Editor of The Huffington Post's Gay Voices vertical, is a proud queer man. What might surprise you is how young he was when he first discovered his pride and sexuality.

If you were looking for an example of how to be a horrible college mental-health counselor, look no further.

What is it about gay uncles that makes them almost universally awesome? For Monique Contreras it was the fact that her gay uncle was someone she could confide in.

Brazil has a reputation as a sex-positive country. But Kelvin explains that when it comes to homosexuality, Brazilian families might not be as liberal as you'd think.

As a sophomore in high school, Eric Snyder was about to come out. But then he realized the Boy Scouts had a discriminatory policy against gay and bisexual scouts, forcing him to remain in the closet. Even though Eric couldn't be openly gay, he decided that his Eagle Scout project would be.

After she came out as queer to an ex-boyfriend, and later to a childhood friend with whom she led Bible study, both friends responded with support.