Lawrence group to host panel for youths on National Coming Out Day

A local youth-led organization is hosting a panel in honor of National Coming Out Day this Sunday.

Rachel Gadd-Nelson with Lawrence Queer Youth Voice said speakers at the panel will include youth and adult leaders of the organization.

“(National Coming Out Day) is a big deal in the LGBT community and I think especially working with youth, we saw some unique challenges or components to the process of coming out,” Gadd-Nelson said. “We wanted to have an event where we can kind of process that as a community and talk about how complicated coming out is, really.”

If you go

What: Lawrence Queer Youth Voice panel for National Coming Out Day

When: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11

Where: Meeting Room B at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.

Gadd-Nelson, who will emcee the panel, said as there are a growing number of safe places to come out, there is also more pressure to come out, or to come out in a particular way.

“Especially working with youths, that’s not always a safe option for folks,” she said.

With this event, Gadd-Nelson said, LQYV leaders hope to break some of the stigmas and misconceptions associated with coming out. They also hope to spread the message that it isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” experience.

“Everyone’s experience is different,” she said. “…There’s not one way to (come out), there’s not one way you should do it — and if you don’t want to come out, you don’t have to.”

Gadd-Nelson said although there have been many reasons to celebrate in recent years, there are still many issues that contribute to the conversation.

“We have to balance that with the reality that there’s still a lot of work to do,” she said. “There’s still a lot of violence. There’s still a lot of shame and stigma that people experience. The lived experiences of LGBT people, and the repression that they face, is still very real.”

There is pressure for teens to know their identities at younger and younger ages, Gadd-Nelson said.

“We’re seeing middle school students who are like, ‘I don’t know my identity,’ — that’s OK, that’s totally fine,” she said. “I just hope that we’re able to speak to experiences that youths are going through here in Lawrence.”

The panel, which is the first of its kind for LQYV, will be 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at Meeting Room B in the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. It is youth-focused, but adults are welcome, according to the group’s website.

For more information about the organization, visit lawrencequeeryouthvoice.org.