Representation Archives - Into The Outside

“However you identify is valid”
“I think we need to make changes in the language that we use”
“We’re more than people who just come out”
“If you’re given a voice, use it. If you’re not using it, they’re going to take it away from you”
“Some of the things have changed over here, thankfully, but they haven’t everywhere else and I think that needs to be acknowledged”
“I write a lot of essays from the perspective of queer theory”
“We have come a long way, but the fight isn’t over”
“I think the problem with trying to describe my gender is everything falls into society-defined categories”
“I don’t think it’s the only thing that defines me. I think I’m more than my gender and sexuality”
“I’m in the process at the moment of questioning things and working it out. I feel like if I try and put too much of a label on it then I’m restricting it too much”
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“Sex ed. needs to be taught for everything”
“Consider why you feel the way you feel”
“We need to be as loud as the people who don’t have to fight for their voice”
“I went to a Pride in Portsmouth, which was drastically different”
“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”
“Sex ed. is just straight and for us that’s living hell”
“Everyone questioning an identity or an orientation wants to find out more”
“I love the fact that they’re building in new LGBTQ+ness into the media, as we know it”
“Politicians are there to represent us. We need to be political about our rights so that they get it”
“In Russia, they’re putting us in concentration camps”
“It’s nice to know that you’re part of something that’s just brilliantly vibrant”
“I have a lot of LGBTQ+ friends. A lot of them identify as many different things”
“I’d say Brighton Pride has a brilliant atmosphere”
“The LGBTQ+ community is vibrant within my college, but is being drowned out when it comes to identity”
“There are genuine points when I decide ‘Let’s pop this skirt on and let’s see the world!’”
“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”
“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”
“We are only beginning to reach a period in culture where representatives of the kind of broader definitions of LGBTQ+ culture are being able to speak for themselves in the media”
“Pride is important, because it allows us to be together in solidarity”
“It’s increasingly becoming less of a political event and more of a just a big party, which annoys me a bit”
“It’s nice to feel a part of something”
“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”
“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”
“We don’t have equality yet and that’s really shocking”
“I find it a bit overwhelming”
“I have never seen so many openly gay people. Never”
“Certainly, in the last few decades, we’ve made great strides towards LGBTQ+ equality”
“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”
“My sister’s girlfriend, her mother didn’t approve of it really and spent a long time trying to make sure she didn’t feel comfortable”
“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”
“The school’s good to speak to, but they won’t really solve any of the issues that they’re having”
“They’re always asking me what certain words mean for certain things”
“I realised the things that made me identify as one or the other, were inherently really sexist“
“I think representation is important”
“Although I identify as male, I still quite like wearing feminine clothes”
“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”
“My parents bought me the ticket to Pride for Christmas”
“It shows we’re a part of society. Everyone feels like they can express themselves in their own way. They don’t have to hide away”
“Sometimes I feel like I want to wear more feminine clothing, but mostly I wear masculine clothes to present how I’d like my pronouns to be”
“I’ve always questioned my gender and I’m still not really sure”
“I have to consider passing as male, so I don’t get horrifically mis-gendered everyday”
“I enjoy being open and feeling like part of the community”
“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 love Pride. It’s one of my favourite days of the year”
“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”
“One thing I’ve noticed I start doing now is when I meet someone new, I don’t just ask their name, I ask their pronouns as well”
“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.”
Alfie
Saskia
Romy
Jay
Charlie
Mally
Anisha