by Paul Olsen

      Olivia, 13, and Lauren, 15, both chose a very public way to come out of the closet. They arrived early and were responsible for writing gay-friendly slogans on the sidewalks throughout downtown Burlington as part of Outright Vermont’s fifth annual Youth Pride celebration on May 10.
      Olivia, who lives in Burlington, decided to attend Youth Pride 2003 after recently visiting Outright Vermont’s office. “I came out to my whole school and my family about one month ago and they all told me about Outright Vermont,” she said. “So I went there yesterday and they told me about this so I decided to come early to help out. We got a bucket of chalk and have been walking for about one mile writing messages on the sidewalks like ‘Queers are everywhere,’‘1 in 10 of you is one of us,’ and ‘I love my queer kid sister.’”
      Until Youth Pride, Lauren, who lives in Williston, had never attended a public event for the gay and lesbian community. “This is the best way to start coming out because I’m not out to anyone right now,” she said. After the event, Lauren says she’s ready to start telling her friends and family that she is a lesbian. “I think my parents will be pretty accepting because my mom has two best friends that are gay and they just got married.”
      According to Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak, a program specialist at Outright Vermont, Olivia and Lauren highlight the importance of the annual Youth Pride event. “It is a place where it is OK to be different and OK to talk about your sexuality and gender identity,” she told Out in the Mountains. “There are events all day long for youth. This is important in a rural state like Vermont. It has been incredible to watch the excitement build in the youth who use our services.”
      An open microphone on the steps of Burlington’s City Hall allowed speakers, surrounded by rainbow flags, to address the crowd of 60 people gathered for the Youth Pride rally and parade. Many young people spoke about the struggles they have had with their sexuality and the role that Outright Vermont plays in their lives. “I came out last summer and started coming to Outright,” said Charles, a young gay man from Isle LaMotte. “That’s when I really stared to become comfortable with who I was. My family isn’t as supportive as most other families could be but we’re working on it and day by day it gets better. Outright has been a really good resource for me. I am so happy to be alive and who I am.”
      Lillian Venner, a representative of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) applauded the young people attending the event. “For PFLAG, every day is gay pride day!” she said to a round of applause. “I only wish that when my daughter was your age that Outright Vermont could have existed because it would have made her existence and my existence a lot easier. I want you to know that there are a lot of moms, even if they are not your own, who are really proud of all of you. Thanks for being you and keep on being you.”
      The speak out and parade through Burlington marked the beginning of a day-long series of events for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth in Vermont. An afternoon film festival and a series of workshops filled the day until an evening Drag Prom was held at Contois Auditorium in Burlington’s City Hall.
      Kate Jerman, a program specialist at Outright Vermont, says that while many of the young people will attend Vermont’s Pride Day celebration on June 14, it is important for them to have an event of their own. “We do it at this time because during Pride Day a lot of the events are at bars and they have an adult focus,” she said. “Youth Pride is a chance to just let these kids shine. While Outright Vermont was guiding force, the youth put this all together. They did it themselves.”
      Outright Vermont was established in 1989 as the state’s first organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. The group’s mission is to “foster sensitivity and understanding of issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.”

Paul Olsen also writes for In Newsweekly.