Disclaimer/ Editor’s Note: Moore Public Schools condemns hate speech of any kind and is committed to creating an inclusive school environment for all. MPS believes meaningful discussions are imperative. Due to the sensitivity of this article, in order to protect the identities of students involved, names have omitted from this publication.

“I think that Oklahoma is working to be better, and I’m so proud of the community we have created together. I have a group that I can lean on and it becomes so much better to be a queer person living here. I’m so grateful for everyone who has helped me through things in the past.”

Lesbian

“I came to terms really early with my sexuality. Fortunately, I live in the city, and I rarely have come across people that have been hateful towards me. I’m not very open about my sexuality, and I prefer to not tell people about this side of me. In school, I hear students sling around words that sometimes make me feel unsafe. I could barely come out to some of my friends because I was unsure how they felt. I had a friend that told me all lesbians are predatory and that she didn’t want to be around me. I don’t like being stereotyped like this, because it makes me feel very isolated. This friend kept naming all of these stereotypes, but blanketed them with ‘no offense.’ She introduced me as her ‘gay friend’ to everyone I didn’t know. This made me feel more closed-up and anxious. It didn’t make me feel more self-conscious about myself, but it really made it hard to trust other people. I couldn’t be friends with her after that.”

Transgender

“I transitioned about three years ago. I wasn’t expecting anything negative, but there’s always the anxiety of “what if”, but for the most part everyone has been really nice and understanding. A couple of people did stop talking to me. Although they weren’t super close friends, it still hurt. I have been called a slur before. Some have been malicious in what they are saying, but others just say it without any anger behind the word. There have been a couple of people who have threatened to beat me up. I used to have long hair, and before I ever came out as trans I was finding reasons to cut my hair. Things like: oh, it’s heavy, I just want to have short hair, if I don’t like it then I’ll grow it out and in the back of my mind I’m just like- it’s because you’re a guy. My family struggles with names and pronouns, but they try. Sometimes I forget about my dead name, so if a sub is calling out roll, I forget to answer, which is really funny. I don’t mean to disrespect teachers when they call me by my dead name. I just haven’t seen myself as that person in a very long time. I have a really good support system with friends, classmates, and parents. I feel like I have really found the community I belong in.”

Non-Binary

“Sometimes it’s scary because I’m not out to my family. I don’t think I’m ready to come out to my family yet. They wouldn’t understand and definitely misgender me. I remember when I was really young, and I would try my brother’s clothes and I would feel really weird. Then when I wore my own clothes, I felt weird. Nothing really seemed to fit. I just don’t want to feel like I’m always masculine or feminine. I want to dress more androgynous, but I don’t want people to ask me about my gender. If I came out, my mom would probably tell me that I’m a girl. I don’t feel like a girl. I don’t really feel like anything. Sometimes it feels very trapping, especially in public because I get misgendered a lot. It hurts when people misgender me. There are people who misgender me on purpose, and it feels like no matter what I do, I’ll always be perceived as a girl.”