Stacie Gibbons
SHE/HER OR THEY/THEM
Stacy shares their experience as a non-binary lesbian growing up in southern Utah and talks about their journey to understanding their queerness and the challenges they faced conforming to gender stereotypes.
Stacy hopes for greater acceptance and equal rights for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals. They emphasize the importance of living authentically and loving without fear of discrimination or hatred.
Hey there. My name's Stacy Gibbons. My pronouns are she, they, and I am a non-binary lesbian.
I actually grew up here in southern Utah, but I moved away to go to college and then kind of moved all the way all across the country and moved back to the St. George area about three years ago.
My experience being queer is kind of a long one.
There were times when I was younger where I thought I might not be completely straight. And then there were also a lot of gender stereotypes that I felt like I had to conform to, to be more like feminine or more girly. And, but it wasn't until I was 30 when I realized that I'm actually queer. And so the last five or six years I've gone through a lot of healing and growth, and I'm now becoming a lot more comfortable with my identity as a non-binary lesbian.
My experience being queer in Southern Utah, it does have its challenges. Sometimes I don't feel comfortable holding my girlfriend's hand if I'm out in the community. And there's always in the back of my head, sometimes thinking about thinking about my safety and, and if people are gonna be hateful or or rude to me. But luckily, I do have a really strong group of friends and family who are really supportive and love me for who I am and love me genuinely. Some of the best parts about being queer here in southern Utah is just the amazing inclusive spaces that are created by organizations such as pride of Southern Utah and Circle.
And then having the support of all of the amazing allies here in southern Utah. And these spaces have allowed me to be able to show up and connect with the queer community and feel like I actually belong somewhere. Some things that I wish could change is we, you know, right now we're seeing the rights of trans non-binary and gender non-conforming folks that we're seeing their, their rights be stripped away here in Utah and throughout other parts of the country. And, and so that's a good reminder for us that the, the fight for our acceptance and equal rights, it's ongoing. And I really think allowing people to live authentically regardless of their gender identity or sexual.
Orientation, that shouldn't be a matter of politics. We all deserve the right to express ourselves authentically and to be able to love whoever we want without fear of discrimination or hatred. So that's a little bit about my story. Thanks for letting me share.