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Emilee, 21, Describes Life as a Chinese-American Lesbian in Rural Fayette County
Entry number 311 in the AMPLIFY LGBTQ archive project
Name: Emilee
Age: 21
County of Residence: Fayette County
Pronouns: she/her
How do you describe your identity? Lesbian, Chinese-American
Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Coming out was an extremely difficult thing for me to do. I was one of only a few minorities in school growing up, so I was bullied quite a lot for being different. I didn’t want to add being gay to the mix as well. All throughout middle school and most of high school I struggled coming to terms with my sexuality. I would always deny it when confronted, even to just myself. Finally during my senior year I accepted the fact that I was a lesbian with support of my friends, certain teachers, and mother. My biggest challenge honestly was being the only Chinese lesbian in my class and trying to accept myself when no one else would.
How would you describe yourself NOW in terms of “being out”? I fully accept who I am today and am happily out of the closet. I no longer hide who I am but I also don’t go around flaunting it.
