#StorySaturday: Gray's Story

Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has different experiences, especially with coming out.  While we know everyone’s situation is different, we thought that sharing the stories and lessons of others could help out the community. So Pride Palace has created #StorySaturday, where we attempt to amplify the stories of people from the community each week. It’s nice to know you’re not the only one experiencing something, and the same goes for coming out. So… get excited for this #StorySaturday, featuring Gray, a proud member of the Pride Palace community!

“Hello, my name is Gray! I’m 16 and use they/he pronouns,” explained Gray, as he introduced himself. Gray expressed that he first came out as pansexual when he was in the 7th grade. However, it was not taken seriously by anybody they knew, so they quickly went “back into the closet” so to say. “I stayed that way until grade 9 when I came out as pansexual again, this time generating more support from friends and family,” explained Gray. 

Unfortunately, there were still friends and family members that were not so accepting of Gray. However, Gray explained to Pride Palace that he did not mind it too much since he had that group of supportive people behind him. 

Gray also explained that once the pandemic hit, they had more time to think about it and they decided that the “queer” label fits better, so they went with that. “I finally felt comfortable with my sexuality, but then began to question my gender which led me to come out as non-binary and changing my name,” they told Pride Palace. Unfortunately, people were less supportive of him coming out this particular time. As Gray expressed, “They needed to do some work on their part.”

To this day, people still struggle with Gray’s name and pronouns along with accepting the fact that they are not female. “Being in grade 11 makes it not as easy considering people knew me as my dead name and pronouns before that, but honestly I have my wrestling team along with my supportive family and friends who use my preferred name and pronouns. I am happy to share my coming out story as a Trans Non-binary Queer person.”