National Coming Out Day is October 11th. UsagiMed has always had a special relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. Some of our own Bunnies (even in our senior leadership) identify as alphabet soup. No matter what letters you claim, we’re happy to work with you, to serve you, and to have you in our ranks.
Our team’s diversity is very important to us. It is one of UsagiMed’s greatest assets. In addition to providing more varied viewpoints, our diversity helps us to provide better patient care. The events that Usagi Medical Group services have a higher percentage of their attendees and crew identifying as LGBTQ+ than the general population. Our inclusivity makes it easier for GSM folks to seek care, for issues related to their alphabet status and in general.
Will You Accept Me?
Coming out to family, friends and colleagues can sometimes be a risky and scary proposition for many. While we’re lucky to have a wonderful, accepting community within our fandoms, it can be more difficult to judge whether we’ll be accepted for who we are outside of that arena. To help address this, one of our own has built a free, secure tool to help LGBTQ+ folks gauge how accepting someone might be in a completely anonymous way. Check it out: https://willyouaccept.me/
Will You Accept Me is completely anonymous–double blind. No private information is asked for. Nothing is stored. Ever. This limits the risk to the person who is coming out.
You might use Will You Accept Me to approach someone in your life to anonymously ask them if they’ll support you in your journey. The resulting communication can take the stress out of coming out, make it easier to trust, and generally serve as a great conversation starter among you and your loved ones.
Will You Accept Me has also put together some great resources about coming out, and how to provide a supportive environment for the alphabet people in your life. You can find all of this at https://willyouaccept.me/.
Coming Out
Some individuals may experience challenges and difficulties when deciding to tell others about their sexuality and/or gender identity / expression. UsagiMed encourages everyone to remember that everyone is unique and should have the room to come out in their own way, in their own time. When you are ready, here are some general tips for coming out:
- Be patient with yourself. You don’t have to tell everyone at once. Take your time.
- Don’t push yourself.
- Start small. It can be easier to start by telling friends than by telling family. Find allies in your family. If you think a brother or sister or cousin will be easier to tell, start there.
- Develop a support network of friends who are accepting and supportive.
- Be positive. When you come out to someone, you set the tone. Coming Out is a celebration.
- If you need it, don’t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional, or get a mentor.
- Don’t come out in anger or retaliation (see #5).
- Be patient with others. Some people take longer to digest the information than others.
- Be firm. Be certain. Identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) or whatever word you use, if you’re sure.
- Assess the situation. Be aware that different people will have very different responses–different types of reactions.
- Ask LGBT friends to share their coming out stories.
- Develop a list of helpful coming-out resources and share it with other parents and friends.
The Human Rights Campaign has published an excellent Resource Guide To Coming Out. And we would be remiss if we didn’t remind you about PFLAG, or the excellent work of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Come Talk To UsagiMed
Pandemic has given a lot of us a lot more time for self-reflection. If you’ve decided that now is the time for you to come out to someone you care about, you have UsagiMed’s support, and we’re here to talk if you need an extra voice of reassurance. Please find us on facebook and drop us a line there.
Organizing Your Convention
Are you looking for ways you can include more gender and sexuality diversity in your event? Have ideas for how we could provide better care for the LGBTQ+ patients we interact with? Let’s have a conversation! Use our Contact Us form to share your questions and ideas. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.