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Into The Outside

Building a Contemporary Queer Youth Archive in Brighton & Hove

Language and defining ourselves

  • “I talk to my mum a bit. My family I think are aware, but we don’t really talk about it much”

  • “I’ve chosen the clothes for a reason”

  • “I started out thinking I was cis and straight, like most people”

  • “I expect it to be respected the same as anyone else’s gender identity, no more, no less”

  • “The LGBTQ+ community is vibrant within my college, but is being drowned out when it comes to identity”

  • “A name isn’t everything”

  • “I’ve been through a lot and I think I’m pretty happy where I am”

  • “My name has changed over the years, because I felt I couldn’t identify as my birth name”

  • “It’s a joint venture between being non-binary and also being male”

  • “There was a time where I wasn’t at all comfortable with this and I was very sort of isolated”

  • “I’m still actually quite new, to be completely honest, it hasn’t been long”

  • “It’s hard, but generally person-to-person I’m accepted”

  • “Generally I identify as a girl, although some days I’m a little bit kind of not, so just like 97% girl or something”

  • “Some people don’t like labels, but for me being bi has been something that’s meant quite a lot to me”

  • “I’ve always kind of dressed like a tomboy since I was a kid. I hated girly things, but I’ve never really thought much of it”

  • “My school had a Stonewall award and I ended up running the LGBTQ+ group, so it was really great and really good fun. All of my teachers were completely supportive of me”

  • “If they know about it when they’re young, they won’t be horrible to people who are queer”

  • “Don’t worry if you don’t know, it might take you a while. It has taken me three years”

  • “I feel like there’s a lot of ‘It’s OK to be this, it’s OK to be whatever you want to be’ but they don’t say how”

  • “I think in this age and generation, nobody should be afraid to do anything”

  • “I do have a lot of transgender and gay friends. Sometimes I do talk to them about stuff like this, because I want to learn more. I want to make sure I understand it”

  • “I realised the things that made me identify as one or the other, were inherently really sexist“

  • “I don’t really mind what pronouns people use. I normally put ‘they’ on my sticker, because it’s easier than writing ‘whatever takes your fancy!”

  • “To show that solidarity is very important I think”

  • “I went to quite a religious school where it wasn’t really acceptable to talk about being gay”

  • “I feel happy with how I identify. I’ve got a lot of choice. That’s quite nice”

  • “I remember the one time I actually said to a group of people that I was straight and it was when I was really uncertain”

  • “I’d almost been out a year and so I wanted to feel like I was really part of the community and fully comfortable with my identity”

  • “I took a long time to figure out exactly what my gender was and I’d been questioning it for a very long time”

  • “It kind of changes how people think about you and how they act around you”

  • “I have to consider passing as male, so I don’t get horrifically mis-gendered everyday”

  • “I decided to come to Pride today because, number one, I am very rainbow”

  • “I’m getting kind of annoyed at the way that being a gay man is kind of seen as the most culturally valid form of being queer”

  • “I think we need to have, globally, acceptance of everyone and unknown identities, unknown genders”

  • “I feel like once I have chosen an identity, or found myself, I will be accepted”

  • “I want it to change that people don’t label people as soon as they see them”

  • “I thought I might try out male pronouns and that felt right”

  • “I was told by someone, well actually by a few people, that I am the most gay person they know”

  • “That’s just how they are, so I’m quite happy. It went as well as it could do I think”

  • “In Brighton, I think sexuality wise, it’s a lot more accepting ”

  • “Being part of this project has opened my mind to identities out there that I didn’t know existed. So I’m trying them on to see how they fit”

  • “This is just part of who I am and I should accept that. Everybody else should accept that and if they can’t, then that’s their problem”

  • “I guess it’s chill to realise that you can be androgynous and not just a stereotype of a girl”

  • “I feel super gay, but I like it.”

© 2025 Into the Outside *