15
6. When did you first discover your gender/sexuality?
About 5th grade
7. When did you first learn about racism and how it personally affected you?
I first learned about racism in elementary school. I don’t remember an exact time, but I know I was really surprised that people would treat others badly like that. After that, I then realized how often people would crack jokes and laugh at peoples race and skin tones.
8. Describe your feelings toward coming out?
Coming out is something easy for white people, but not for QTPOC. Although some QTPOC can come out easily, others go through many repercussions and may even regret that decision due to the events that followed them coming out. The idea of coming out is something to be handled very carefully. Just because someone did it easily doesn’t mean it’ll be the same way for you.
9. Has your race/ethnicity ever made you feel like you can’t be queer and/or trans because that’s a “white people thing” or the fact that there weren’t any media representations of you?
Yes. I do not see a lot of QTPOC in the media, and it is mostly dominated by white people. Even the most popular shows now a days focus on the gay white man, not even a lesbian white woman or at least an asexual or bisexual male. Media sees many people having a white gay best friend and that’s what media thinks everyone should have now. With the presence of queer white people everywhere, it definitely discriminates QTPOC because it makes me personally feel like we don’t exist. Media is too focused on the white gay character being sassy and forgets QTPOC exist… but what else is new?
10. What's your advice to QTPOC who want to come out?
Be careful. Not everything is how you think it is. Feel the water first, how do your friends and/or family feel about queer people and how do you think they would react on having a queer or trans friend/child? Sometimes it is best to wait, even if you are tired of waiting to come out. Patience is the best thing to have when it comes to this. Also, look for the right time to talk about queer or trans people with who you want to come out to. See their views and determine from that if they are the right person to come out to. Lastly, you don’t HAVE or NEED to tell the whole world that you’re queer or trans (unless you want to). Sometimes it’s just best to leave that alone when you’re making new friends or talking with old friends and/or family.