- I'm Sebastian, I'm from Chile, and I'm a gay man.
- My name is Curly, I'm Salvadorean-American,
and I'm a gay man.
- May name is Helen, I'm Salvadorean, and I'm a lesbian.
- My name is Floresa Garcia, I was born
in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I'm queer.
(relaxing melodic music) (playful pop chime)
- The first time that I came out, I was 18 years old.
- I was 11 years old.
- I was like 21.
- Probably when I was like 12, or 13 years old.
- For a long time I identified as bisexual,
I felt like it was easier than saying I was a lesbian.
- I came out, and I was living in Chicago with my dad.
We're all Argentina and my dad's from a very small town.
And me coming out was not on, like it was an accident.
- I had not intentions of coming out.
- I came out to my sister.
I was like, I need to talk to you,
I need to tell you something.
I was super, super nervous, I didn't know how to tell her.
And then, she's like "Alright,
I'm all yours, like, what's going on?"
- My dad decided to check the history
of all the websites that I had been searching.
So when he had seen me looking for Brad Pitt's
dick (laughing)
it became a thing.
And then they asked me if I was in fact gay.
- I went to Pride, I snuck out of my house.
We get there and it's like amazing,
and it's really hot and sunny
so I get all sunburn, or whatever.
And I go home, I lived at my parent's house still.
And my mom walked to my room,
and threw my door open, and she was like,
(speaks spanish)
- Back in the day there was something called a partyline.
And they had a gay and lesbian area,
and I ran up the bill,
and my dad found out what the partyline was.
At the time, I was talking to some girl,
I don't remember her name, I just know it started with a J.
And I carved out her initial in my fingers.
And he saw the number that I was calling,
and it had her name,
and so like he put two-and-two together
and he was like, "Does that J stand for Jessica?",
or something, I don't remember her name.
But he was like, "Does it stand for her?"
And I was like, yeah it does.
- She like gave me a paper and a pen
and she was like, "If you can't say it, just write it."
So I wrote like, I'm gay
(laughing)
I gave it to her, and before she read it,
she told me, "I know what you're going to say."
And she just gave me a hug,
and it was like fully supportive, and it was great.
- I came out as bisexual,
and I was crying and it was a whole big thing.
My mother hugged me,
and they had made it very clear to me
that they loved me for everything that I am,
everything that I'm not.
They're just here to be my parents.
- So, she kept asking me so I snapped.
And I turned around from my desk
and I was like, I was at Pride.
And she got really quiet, and she said "Why?"
And that's when I was like, okay, well I'm just gonna do it.
And I said, because I'm a lesbian.
I was like, Mom, I'm a lesbian.
And she looked at me and she was like, "No you're not."
- And that's how I came out, and he was not happy about it.
At first my dad was not cool with it at all,
like it just wasn't okay.
Me and my dad didn't talk
about me being lesbian forever, it felt like.
- Years went by, and it wasn't until
my mom was diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer
that she came anywhere near accepting who I was.
Because they basically told her,
you have like weeks to live.
And my dad told her, "You're going to get over this,
you're going to get over it now.
Because you don't have time.
You don't have any time left."
She passed away in January of 2011,
and a month later, I'm sitting with my dad
in my apartment and he says,
"You know your mom, one night toward the end,
had looked over at me and said,
'I messed up.'
She was like, 'I lost so much time with her,
and I can't get it back.'"
There's nothing we could do.
Time had eventually run out.
Probably like a month after
the conversation that she had with my dad,
she passed away.
- So it wasn't until recently that my dad opened up,
or at least acknowledged my sexuality.
And it was after what happened
in Orlando at Pulse Nightclub.
And I was in Canada at the time.
And he texted me, and he said
"Hey Flor, are you back from Canada?
I came back from Switzerland to
the horrible news of the mass shooting in Orlando.
I'm appalled by the senseless act
of hate and violence towards the LGBT community.
This is absolutely crazy."
And like, him even acknowledging
the LGBT community was like,
I had never heard him say that, and it just,
I like bust into tears when I read that.
I was like, um ...
Sorry.
- Being who you are, regardless of what your mom,
or your dad, or your siblings thinks,
is the most liberating feeling.
Because at the end of the day, you have to love you.
You really have to love who you are,
and the way that you live your life.
And if you don't, if you're living it for somebody else,
you're going to end up mad at them,
you're going to end up mad at yourself,
and no one's going to win.
- If it feels like it's dangerous for you to come out,
I think that definitely be aware of your circumstances.
It's understandable that not all of us can come out.
Coming out really is a luxury.
- I feel like you have to create your safety first.
Your own bubble.
- You know, do your best in your own bubble.
Do your best to be as much of yourself as you can.
In the world that you're in.
- But if you live in a place
where you genuinely would be accepted,
I say do it.
- And we love you, and we're with you, and you're not alone.
(playful pop chime)