Happy Pride 2025!!!

[Glisten]

@Jynx @Appleblossom @MissinTooth @The-red-centaur @Till23 @Dreamy 

https://youtu.be/M0quXl_od3g?si=P4RB8qqeZ2mBatfC

[Patches59]

@Jynx @MissinTooth @The-red-centaur @Appleblossom 

My connection with the community is a son and grandson (technically stepson and his son)

Being at my son and his partners wedding few years ago was an honour.  Since my husband died they don’t keep in contact with me but there are still my sons and grandson….3 very funny guys.

for me, it’s not the sexuality side that makes a person, it’s the nature and character

[Shaz51]

Hello @Jynx 

How do you connect to the Rainbow Community? -- 

1) Family connections, Family members, Cousins 

2) awesome friends here on the forum, @MissinTooth , @Appleblossom , @Glisten , @Patches59 , @Captain24 , @Dreamy , @RiverSeal , @Cuddlebear , @Till23 , @The-red-centaur 

What has been your experience of queer connectedness? The good, the bad, and the in-between? 

as for me being straight, my experience with all my cousins have always been wonderful 

One of my cousins that I have known since birth and has lived with us at one stage has found it very hard as he was bashed, had to have his face reconstructed, he became a landscraper, went through DV 

now he has a new name, but which is sad as he was very close to me like i was a sister 

but his mum won't give anyone his phone number at all, love to tell him that I am here for him 

[Glisten]

I was raised not to see gender, colour or religion.

I am literally blind to those things. I only see the person.

I’ve been at Dance festivals with a former Senator and watched her personally care for others under the influence. Not just putting them in an Uber.

A former colleague was my children’s Auntie Trevor.

Nothing and no one is perfect. No more marginalisation. We all bleed the same.

Social Justice = Human Rights 

I stand in solidarity ✊🏼🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

@Jynx @Shaz51 @Patches59 @Appleblossom @MissinTooth @Captain24 @RiverSeal @Dreamy @Cuddlebear @The-red-centaur 

[0ddsidian]

Love this @Jynx ❤️

This is such an important topic to me. I'm a straight-passing queer woman; not that I really know what that even means. Nevertheless, a HUGE percentage of my friends are also queer (and if they aren't queer, they're definitely neurodivergent). The thing that draws me to those people is the acceptance. They just get it! I also adore how they tend to just challenge the "norm" by existing, like yourself and @RiverSeal. That authenticity (and rebellion sometimes) is beautiful! 

[Glisten]

@0ddsidian  Never accept the status quo.

All colours, all the people in all of the world.

🙌🏼✊🏼

[ale_inmelb]

content warning: very long paragraphs

Hello boys, girls, and everyone in between, I haven't been really active on forum but here I am again.

I’m bisexual and non-binary, and being part of the Rainbow Community has been a journey of discovery, challenge, and healing. It has been 6+ years since I recognized and acknowledged myself as such, and I am very proud of myself for having done that

The good? It’s been recognising and exploring who I truly am. Learning that it’s okay not to have all the answers about myself right away—that identity is fluid, and it’s okay to be confused sometimes. In fact, that confusion is part of the process. Understanding that my queerness doesn’t need to fit into a neat box has been empowering. Every step I take toward embracing my bisexuality and my non-binary identity feels like reclaiming a piece of myself I wasn’t allowed to fully know before.

The bad? It’s the bullying, the discrimination, and the quiet pain of hiding who I am from those I love—especially from older generations of my family. There’s a constant inner conflict between wanting to be authentic and fearing rejection. And on top of that, the cultural differences I navigate every day often make it even harder. Sometimes, it feels like the expectations from my cultural background clash with the parts of me I’ve fought so hard to understand and embrace. I often feel like I’m split between two worlds: one where I’m free to be myself, and one where I stay silent to keep the peace and avoid causing discomfort. It’s exhausting—and deeply isolating at times.

And the in-between? That space where I’m both proud and vulnerable. Where I still flinch at the wrong comment, but hold my head higher each day. It’s where I’ve felt the most human—messy, real, and ever-changing. It’s also where queer joy lives—not always loud, but tender and powerful. Sometimes it’s in the smallest things: hearing someone use my correct pronouns, seeing a Pride sticker in a café window, sharing a look of knowing with another queer person across the room, or wearing an outfit that feels like me for the first time. These moments might seem small to others, but to me, they are everything.

And in that in-between, I’ve found people who see me—really see me—without asking me to shrink. That kind of connection is rare, and it means more than I can put into words.

I did, have been, am, and will always be standing up against the discrimination we are facing. As an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, I carry not only my story but the voices of so many others who are still silenced or afraid. Whether through speaking up, creating safe spaces, or simply existing unapologetically, I am committed to challenging the systems and mindsets that try to erase us. My queerness is not just a part of me—it is my strength, my pride, and my reason to keep fighting for a world where all of us can live freely, safely, and joyfully. We deserve nothing less.

[Jynx]

---

@Appleblossom wrote:

 @Jynx  @MissinTooth  @The-red-centaur @Dreamy I only think I am a gender some of the time. A very small portion of he time.

---

@Appleblossom that feels like me!! I do get hints, dollops, or little smidgeons of 'gender' feelings but not enough to really feel aligned with any gender. I sometimes say that I am bigender, and that my two genders are agender and omnigender... 😅😋

@Glisten OMG YESSSSS got me out here having a lil boogie 🕺😍😎

And TY for the solidarity ✊ You are such an icon!!

---

@Patches59 wrote:

for me, it’s not the sexuality side that makes a person, it’s the nature and character

---

@Patches59 yes, 1000%!!! And d'aww your rainbow family makes me all sorts of full of happy 😁

@Shaz51 aww I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your cousin hun, that's really hard. To be estranged is one thing but when you get no choice in it? That's so hard.

Hugs to you mamabear 🐻🫂

@0ddsidian aww heck yesssss!! The acceptance is unreal hey. I've found that it is amongst my queer friends that I get to be my weirdest most gremlin-iest self 😝

@ale_inmelb wow wow wow. THANK. 👈 You have received one enormous thank for this post, I really appreciate you sharing, truly.

So much of your story really resonates with me; I think that phrase 'existing unapologetically' is one that sits VERY close to my heart. You've moved me nearly to tears!!

Your passion, compassion, and also your self-compassion, are an inspiration tbh 🥹

EEP everyone this is TOO WHOLESOME and I am gonna EXPLODE FROM IT (very, very happily 😋)

Thank you forums fam, y'all make my heart soar 🥰🥰🥰

[MissinTooth]

@Jynx There's something you said that I've been sitting with this week...

Maybe the term pansexual aligns with me? But also like...gender's never been something that I think about. I wear what I'm comfortable in, I sit in a way that I'm comfortable, I engage with activities that make me feel comfortable and gender has never really come into it before. Others have kinda tried to shape me so that I'm more "feminine" and less "masculine" but my brain doesn't get it and I get angry and frustrated and feel kinda...judged.

[Dreamy]

@MissinTooth this is so me, i wear whatever I want, sit how I want and engage in whatever activities appeal to me. I refuse to conform to how society expects me to be. I get frustrated by the whole gender label sometimes, yes I'm a girl that loves to wear oversized mens hoodies, I grew up dressing like a tom-boy, well that's what it was called back then. But as far as gender goes, well honestly I'm just a person, what else matters?

Content/trigger warning

I had an ex partner that exploited me he dressed me up sexually and made me  walk through the shopping centre, parading me around, I was only 17 years old and the fact that my mother knew this happened and did nothing to step in to stop what was happening just makes me so angry. This ex just treated me like I was his trophy, something to show off and he didn't care how it made me feel.

Think it's a big reason why I'm so self conscious now of what I wear and I try to cover as much of my body up as possible. 

@Jynx @rav3n not sure if this should have a Trigger warning or not.