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HoDC: National Coming Out Day

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Andrew Peterson Student Contributor, Davidson College
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Davidson chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

HoDC: Humans of Davidson College is a series started by HerCampus Davidson to profile members of the community and learn more about their stories.

National Coming Out Day Series highlights the significance of National Coming Out Day to the LGBTQ+ members of the Davidson community.

 

“Since my parents are pretty strict, they didn’t know that my brother had a girlfriend  I knew because my brother told me everything, but after he passed away, they found out he had a girlfriend.  One of the things my dad told me was, ‘Well at lest we know that he wasn’t gay.’ That is why I don’t want my parents to know because now I am their only child
”

“My parents are okay with the LGBTQ community, but I think it is only if it is not a part of their lives.  That is why they would have an issue if their children were gay. I know they’d love me regardless, but being the only child now makes it a little different.”

“I feel like I am protecting them.”

“Honestly, I’m still me.  I am still me around my parents, and it shouldn’t be something that affects them, but because of the situation and how traditional they are, it might cause some problems.

“In 7th grade I discovered that bisexuality was a thing, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m that!’ This was really interesting because some people don’t know what they identify as until they learn the term.  I don’t even remember telling people.  My school was really small, so people just started asking me about my sexuality through G-chat.”

“I think that hooking up here is so difficult
at least with girls. I have no problem with guys, but a lot of girls who are LGBTQ here are also bi- or bi-curious or questioning or stuff like that.  It is just so open ended that I can’t tell sometimes.  I don’t know how I am supposed to feel about that. It is weird because we are such a small community, so we see a lot of each other.”

“In terms of discrimination on campus, no, I have not faced that, but I think that, as a bisexual woman, that tends to be the case.  I guess society is a little more accepting of us.  I think it can be especially difficult for trans students here, but for other members of the LGBTQ community, I can’t really think of any problems except the lack of options.  Again, we are such a small campus.”

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Andrew Peterson

Davidson

Andrew Peterson is a member of the Class of 2018 at Davidson College. He was born in Elkin, North Carolina and attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM).  After graduation, Andrew came to Davidson, where he is an English major and an Neuroscience minor on the pre-med track.   He began writing for HerCampus during his sophomore year, and most of his articles are human interst pieces highlighitng unique individuals at Davidson.  When he is not writing for HerCampus, Andrew serves as President of Timmy Global Health, a committee head for Dinner at Davidson, Programming and Publicity head of the Civic Engagement Council, a founder and organizer of TEDxDavidson, a University Innovation Fellow with Davidson I&E, and a regular volunteer at Ada Jenkins Free Clinic.  During his time at Davidson, Andrew has spent a summer studying British Literature at Cambridge University, lead two medical service tripes to Quito, Ecuador, went on his first mission to Nicaragua with the Chaplain's Office, and spent a summer conducing biomedial research at NYU Dental School. If you would like to learn more about Andrew, feel free to reach out to him at anpeterson@davidson.edu.