FIRST LGBT+ (A blog by and about LGBT+ people in FIRST)

[cadandcookies]

A friend of mine (who is trans) did not feel comfortable posting in this thread, but asked me to post this for them:

Many of the reasons that mentors and other adults don't understand where to room trans students is they don't have a grasp on what it is to be transgender. The first step to creating a team environment that makes it safe enough for LGBT+ students to come out without fear of being ostracized or discriminated against by mentors and team members is learning what LGBT+ people go through. The vocal opponents of this thread (even if not many) deter me even more from outing myself fully in the FIRST community; especially because they are SO DETERMINED to discredit my experiences and their intersection within FIRST. It's obvious by the way this conversation is going that this blog is a necessity, and I applaud the students who felt safe and empowered enough to create and promote it.

Personally, it's a bit disappointing to me that there are still people out there who feel uncomfortable sharing who they are with our community. We can still do better, even if we've come a long way.