I filmed my live reaction to President Obama’s speech from the Rose Garden after the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. I had just turned 23 and I identified as a bisexual woman but very few people in my life knew.
Last year I attended my first Pride event and I even got to be a part of the parade. It was an absolutely incredible and emotional experience. I did think about making a coming-out video then but I have been confident in my sexuality for many years now and personally didn’t feel the need to announce it, partially because I didn’t want certain people in my life to find out through a youtube video.
I know a lot of people who identify with the LGBTQ+ community struggle with the choice to come out to their loved ones. LGBTQ+ youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth. Growing up in a Christian household myself, and seeing the reaction my brother got when he came out, I just didn’t see the need to tell my family that I was Bi. I wouldn’t hide it or lie if asked but I wasn’t about to offer that information freely. When I did accidentally tell them over the phone a few months ago, it was not the warm embrace we all hope for, but it was also nothing compared to what a lot of LGBTQ+ people experience. I am very thankful for my chosen family who’s loved and accepted me for who I am. I’m also very privileged to live where I do and not financially dependent on anyone but myself.
there are still 27 states with no explicit statewide laws at all protecting people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations. There are currently people in political positions of power that seek to reverse marriage equality. So I’ll take this moment to implore you to please if you are +18 and a US citizen, please vote.
I’m very fortunate to not only live in a state that has full LGBT Non-Discrimination Protections but I also work for a company where I feel celebrated for who I am. I am a part of the GoDaddyUnited Employee Resource group and they’ve asked me to help celebrate National Coming Out Day which motivated me to make a video for you guys. For the past two years, GoDaddy has received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my two year anniversary with the company is this month.
In all seriousness though, many of you know that I am in a relationship with a man who loves and accepts me, regardless of my sexuality. No one is more or less bi based on who they may be in a relationship with, who they date, who they are intimate with, or who they are attracted to. If you are bi, you are bi, and you don’t need to prove it to anyone. There is no single way to be bi. Being bi is about acknowledging the capacity to have an attraction to more than a single gender, not necessarily in the same way or at the same time or even to the same degree. It is important for me to use the passing privilege I hold to educate and challenge people’s expectations about who LGBTQ+ people are.
Thanks so for much for being here, it means the world to be able to be my authentic self with you.
TLDR; Hi, I’m Bi
Thanks for reading & drink more water
-Ri
Share the story
Raisa Lynn
As an experienced freelance copywriter and web content writer, I help businesses and brands find their voice, tell their story and spread their message, using copy that engages, informs, persuades, motivates, challenges, provokes and entertains.
