Sense Project

PFLAG Canada is an organization that “supports, educates and provides resources to anyone with questions or concerns. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” And, they definitely provide lots of awesome material designed with everyone in mind. There’s stuff for youth, seniors, parents, family members, employers, co-workers, educators, clergy, healthcare providers and so forth. Basically, whether your sexual orientation and/or gender identity or someone else’s has got you confused, angry, fearful, proud or ashamed, PFLAG has got you covered.

For a very ultra mini taste of what PFLAG has to offer, here are some general tips for coming out that I pulled from their “So what is it like to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and/or questioning” sections:

General Tips for Coming-out

You may be very nervous about telling family members that you are gay, but here are a few strategies that can help you decide what to say and when to say it:

1) Don’t be rushed, timing is important. Try to pick a quiet time of the day that will allow everyone who is involved to focus on the discussion and any questions that follow.

2) Tell them there is something you feel they ought to know. This says that you are making a deliberate effort to share important news.

3) Keep your opening statements brief. If you want to start with, “For a long time, I have felt…” or any other lead-in, keep it to two sentences - or less! The anticipation may be worse than actually hearing the news.

4) Be clear and direct. Say the words, “Mom and Dad, I am gay.” If you are telling young children, read the section on “Coming-out to your Dependant Children”.

5) If they react poorly tell them you understand that this information is difficult to hear.

6) Explain that it has taken you a lot of time to understand it yourself, so you realize that it will take them some time too.

7) Try to answer their questions, but tell them you may not have all the answers. If the exchange goes poorly, don’t fret. It doesn’t mean they will never accept you. They may just need time to absorb the news and think about what it means to your relationship.

© 2005 PFLAG Canada Inc. www.pflagcanada.ca

Hi folks! Hope that the holiday season treated you to some mighty delicious food and fun times. For the next few weeks, the Sense Project’s “e-division” will be tackling the topic of homophobia.

As stated in our lovely Peer Education Manual (which can be downloaded from www.senseproject.org), the literal definition of homophobia is the fear or dislike of people who form the LGBTTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex) communities. But, like all things “Sense-y”, the literal definition is just too simplistic as it doesn’t take into consideration the many complicated and complex ways homophobic behaviours are experienced and/or dished-out. This is why it’s so important to talk about homophobia so as to debunk the many myths surrounding homosexuality and ultimately, raise awareness about this very important issue.

So, please share your stories, your links, your images and any other artifacts pertaining to the topic of homophobia. We’ll be posting a variety of myth-busting questions and polls to keep you busy in the meantime.

Cheers!