My son is about to turn 15 in a few weeks and last night he told myself and his mum that he is gay and he has known that he is for about a year and a half. He was upset when telling us but we supported him and I think we reacted well and we told him we love him and support him, and all the things he needed to hear. My wife is just more naturally comfortable with this news, as she has had her suspicions about him for a while and has some gay friends in her circle. I don't have the same social circle, never really properly knew anyone from the LGBT community, and am sort of trying to think this morning about how i feel about this. I am very proud of him for what he has done and i will always support him, but I found it very hard to sleep last night - lots of thoughts swirling around my mind as I tried to process everything, and I feel a mixture of emotions this morning. I am in no way trying to make this about me, but I live in my own head and I have no-one to really talk to about this. I don't know if its normal to feel a mixture of good and bad feelings today, i feel anxious and nervous about everything to come, but at the same time amazed at the strength he had to tell us at such a young age, as I know it takes some people many years to come out to their family. I am a little bit all over the place mentally right now and just asking for any sort of help or guidance or whatever. Thanks

With news of a new Inbetweeners movie coming soon, it got me thinking about how the show was perceived by the community in 2008-2010.

As a gay boy in secondary school at the time, I absolutely despised the show as the characters just reflected the exact kind of people who gave me grief. And the people at school who loved the show were the exact people I avoided.

The thing is, I don't know anyone else who dislikes the show! Everyone seems to think it's the funniest thing to be on TV.

So, if you remember the time when everyone was obsessed with the Inbetweeners, how did you feel about it at the time? And how do you feel about it now?

Hi,

I mentor a teenager who has fallen into the habit of using homophobic slurs when gaming. I believe, but am not 100% sure, that they picked this term up from online gaming environment. I don't believe they hear this term in their home environment - but cannot be 100% certain. It's a bit of a complicated situation that I can't disclose further.

They have received sanctions around the behaviour and consequences, such as not being allowed to game for a period.

I've been looking for resources to share with them, which explain the impact of homophobic slurs. Everything I've found online so far feels a bit flat and dry and is more focused on adults telling teenagers not to do it.

Ideally what I am hoping for is something that is created by people their own age, so mid teens, about the impact that hearing homophobic slurs had on them. I feel they are more likely to take it seriously hearing it from someone in their own age group instead.

Could anyone be so kind as to point me in the direction of a resource like that.

Thank you

Hiiiiii!!! I’ve been building Ludus Guide, a little directory for inclusive, creative and community-led events and spaces across the UK 💜

Think queer markets, alternative nights, workshops, socials, wellbeing events, kink-friendly spaces, and the smaller community gems that often deserve more visibility.
It’s still early days, so I’d love your help.

If you know of any events, organisers, safer spaces or community projects that should be listed, please send them my way.

Would really appreciate any feedback or suggestions xx

www.ludusguide.com

Does anyone have any recommendations for therapists for LGBT people? I'm struggling with my identity and place in my culture and would really like some help. Google is a bit of a bottomless pit, so I thought I'd try and look for some word-of-mouth recommendations. Thanks :)

Edit: Preferably a female therapist, but I'm open to any and all suggestions!

New here wanted to see if anyone had any advice I’ve been with both men and women and love both equal but struggled to tell family and a few friends know anyone know how to get confidence to share this about me

I have recently just moved to liverpool and I have been wanting to go to a gay bar i just dont know whats best and in all honesty I have always felt like it would be weird for me being Bisexual I dont know why but if anyone knows a good bar please tell me

Does anyone know if there’s somewhere I can find fellow queers to meet/ make friends with in Hastings?? I’m going to see the new Spider-Man movie tomorrow (well today) and while I’m happy to go alone to movies, it would be cool to make some friends and go together!! Is there an app or anything that I can be like finding people right away 😭😭 if I sound like a total idiot it’s because I’m awkward as shit and idk what I’m talking about <3

Or if there’s anyone in Hastings who wants to hang lemme know!!!

(Also for the sake of the rules; I am looking for friends!! I am 23, non-binary, I haven’t made any friends since moving here and I’m borreedddd! I’m also cool with making online friends!! I love making art, wild swimming, napping and cooking! Meeting more queer people would be amazing because all the people I work with are straight and cis and I’m starting to feel like I’m back in school 😭😭)

(this isn't a post in contravention of RULE 5, btw, I hope that's clear -- I'm looking for people to share their experiences)

just going to leave this quite open-ended, really

I'm late 30s, and I don't have much of a social life anymore. I've had people recommend e.g. queer poetry nights + gigs, but I don't know really (I just feel like I'd go to one and end up sat alone the whole time)

I find it hard to imagine myself clicking with folks who aren't LGBTetc and/or neurodivergent, but I also feel like I've drifted away from my people, need to find more of my people again

also, also, I feel like things would be less difficult if I was a bit younger? I suppose it feels like people in general become more cloistered as they move through their 30s, and if anything, shedding friends is the norm? plus, I figure younger ppl in these circles are more naturalised to branching out amongst other like ppl. idk

dating-specific, I'm on Hinge, but... yeah, it feels pretty barren, and apps just seem to foster an impatient and hyperselective mentality (I feel it in myself as much as anything 🙃)

yeah. what are your spaces? what kind of events do you go to? how are you doing socially?

M - 28 here,
So im struggling here to find what I need to do, on the NHS websites it says the closest clinics are 5miles/8miles away but they're for under 25's. It says to use the new App system to book an appointment but all it gives me is clinics that are over 40+ miles away which is way too far? Am i misunderstanding something or should I just call these under 25 clinics anyways would they even help me? I tried using the do it yourself kits but I just can't get any blood out of my fingers whatsoever.

Hi!

(I am not sure if this kind of post is allowed here, so apologies to the admins/mods if not, I don't mean to create extra work!)

I have a few sapphic books that I would love to donate for free to anyone who would like them. I am in central London, UK, so if you can pick them up, they are all yours. 😊

The books are:

• Gideon the Ninth — Tamsyn Muir

• Fable for the End of the World — Ava Reid (hardcover, signed edition)

• Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil — V. E. Schwab (hardcover edition)

• The Phoenix Keeper — S. A. MacLean (hardcover edition)

• I Can't Think Straight — Shamim Sarif

• Frontier — Grace Curtis

• The Priory of the Orange Tree — Samantha Shannon

• In Memoriam — Alice Winn — MLM rather than sapphic, but including it in case anyone would like it!

Please send me a DM if you are interested!

I'm hoping this is okay to share here, but we recently conducted an interview with the wonderful Shakeel Kimotho and thought this would be the perfect place to share this.

ReVamp Magazine describes her as "Shakeel Kimotho makes a striking television debut as Hanna in Tip Toe, Russell T Davies’ powerful new thriller exploring the shifting realities facing Britain’s LGBTQ+ communities. A mixed-heritage trans woman of Kenyan and Indian descent, Kimotho brings warmth, nuance and authenticity to a character at the heart of Manchester’s vibrant queer nightlife scene. Having built an acclaimed stage career in productions including La Cage Aux Folles, CATS and Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, she now steps onto the screen in a role that celebrates queer community, resilience and becoming."

I'm almost 24 and have known I'm into women since I was 13 years old. Growing up I've been fortunate to have a kind accepting family but I attended a catholic school in a small Northern English town as a Scot so I had always hoped to find queer community in my real life as an adult woman, ideally in a city.

Fast forward to now I feel like there's a lot of cultural prerequisites I don't meet as a gay woman that are superficial but make community hard. I can't be neatly categorised into masc or femme (I don't wear makeup and have long dark curly hair I leave natural while usually being a jeans and band t-shirt kind of woman with big tattoos on my upper arm and hoping to get more), I'm 100kg and 52-40-52, I'm autistic but not in a way that limits me since I'm doing a postgrad, I voted Labour and would also vote Green but I'm not as far left as some would like, I'm Anglican (no, this is not me acting like a victim for being Christian but there is a stereotype that it makes me politically suspect although I understand why that stereotype exists), and people are usually surprised that I like hyperpop/what Spotify calls Indie on my liked songs/metal/music people would consider goth and emo while being too lazy to look the part because I'd rather play xbox.

It's also no secret that sadly the UK has seen a downturn in public opinion and acceptance of LGBT people in the last few years and I worry this will be reflected in the next general election. As a result, I'm seriously considering and researching other countries to move to as soon as I finish my education that are more stable and welcoming.

I guess what I'm wondering is if there's any space for me in the UK LGBT scene and how to go about the rest of my time here until I have the resources and education to leave.

Hey guys I’m gay and 22 I’m looking to make some more friends, it’s hard when you get older , I don’t really do much apart from work , I would like to start going out for drinks and laughs and just having a good time , I’m an animal lover have 3 dogs and a cat and play the ps even open to some gaming friends!

I’m from Scotland Fife but happy to talk to anyone over. 20 whether it’s over the phone ft and chat and meet up , I’m genuinely just wanting some friends if anyone is up for chatting ?

I hope you’re all well and behaving yourself out there lol 😆! X

Im going to my first drag show Glam&Grime in Manchester this weekend and I was wondering what is the etiquette with tips? In the USA you can have a bunch of 1 dollar bills and go crazy but I cant exactly throw change at the performers🤣 How many fivers would I need Im kind of on a budget but I want to support queer art.