MATTHEW

“I was pretty comfortable coming out, even though, internally, I was trying not to be too feminine or too whatever. I was mostly fighting how I thought I should be in my own head, but my friends helped a lot with that. I have a close friend who is very open and outspoken and watching her helped me to find the words and the way I wanted to come out. It may sound silly, but I think the show RuPaul’s Drag Race helped too. On paper it seems so far away from anything I might like, but I found it really inspirational. It’s about as out there as you can get from an LBGT perspective and they really put themselves on the line when it comes to advocating for the community. I was gay, but I had no friends who were, so it definitely opened a door into the community for me.”