[00:00:00] This podcast is brought to you by pride in z and rainbow youth. How are you today? I'm good. Thanks, Benji. How are you? I'm fantastic. Who are you?
[00:00:09] And Tisha, where are you from? Oakland.
[00:00:12] We are you originally from Oakland as well?
[00:00:14] Yes. I'm originally from Oakland.
[00:00:17] 1717 you're almost almost 18 and three days, two days, two days. Even better. Yeah,
[00:00:23] exactly. Yeah. So you're here at the boy. Yes. I am sitting with you on a beard.
[00:00:27] Yes. I beard. Yeah.
[00:00:33] very descriptive.
[00:00:35] How you feeling?
[00:00:36] Pretty good. So nice to be around. Same people. Same interests. You know,
[00:00:41] what? Your shit and you have your experience so far. I'm sitting. I'm sitting on the bed.
[00:00:48] really lovely interview.
[00:00:52] I'm not just learning heaps of new things, extending my knowledge of Q essays and how to run them and maintain them and different stuff up political stuff. And it's been really good. So,
[00:01:02] um, can you tell us about yourself?
[00:01:05] Well, I'm 17 year old Lisbon. Lisbon. Lesbian.
[00:01:12] And I work with rabies now and then it is my god work with him full time in the future.
[00:01:22] I would have sold enough.
[00:01:25] There's been those new lesbian,
[00:01:27] yet lesbian. That's what I am. Yeah.
[00:01:31] So what's it like being in school so in school
[00:01:34] guy, I'm still in school. That's pretty good. I'm
[00:01:38] really good with like the whole, like quiz off. Pretty accepting. I had my own que se
[00:01:44] and got the school on TV on 60 minutes for just pretty cool. I'm brilliant. Yeah, well, that was what two years ago.
[00:01:52] It was good. So you're famous now? Yeah. Yeah, pretty much
[00:01:57] famous glory.
[00:01:59] I'm just a big star. Really? Obviously.
[00:02:01] I had to get your your autograph.
[00:02:03] That paper I sign? Yeah.
[00:02:09] So everything's all fine and dandy. Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah,
[00:02:13] it's really good. So
[00:02:17] what do you identify with as your
[00:02:19] gender? Female? And what is your gender expression? I'm
[00:02:25] not I'm not gonna say diet, because that's, that's a derogatory term.
[00:02:29] I would say, quite androgynous.
[00:02:33] But, you know, just how I express myself. But some people like to categorize that, but I don't I don't see it as a category, but she's gonna give it a name. What's androgynous? What does
[00:02:43] this mean?
[00:02:44] Um, it's kind of like, you don't really explain it. I just express myself how I feel, but it's appears and like a gender neutral sort of way. So, you know, for some people that might mean to me, I look more masculine, I might be a little more feminine, just depends how I feel like express myself at the time. So yes,
[00:03:04] it's a good way to look at it.
[00:03:08] So your sexuality is there's been?
[00:03:11] There's been,
[00:03:13] there's been
[00:03:15] so when did you realize that you at least when
[00:03:18] I realized I was a lesbian? Just five seconds ago? Five seconds ago? Yeah. Um, no, I didn't really realize I just kind of came to terms with it. Because
[00:03:28] like, I have been brought up in a really gay friendly environment, I'm brought up by two lesbians. So I've been exposed to salsa, from pretty much when I was a baby. But um, so it's really been a problem for me, I've never actually had to come out to anyone. But I've kind of just come termed it was myself. So I kind of came up to myself more than anyone else. So that would have been
[00:03:49] about
[00:03:50] 1314. So it was not really about realization, it was more about accepting. Yeah,
[00:03:56] just accepting and just being like, well, this is who I am. So
[00:04:00] Viva thought it was like, oh, wow, I'm listening. This is, you know,
[00:04:05] because you're photographing them why it's
[00:04:07] never really been like, a new thing to me, or a shock or anything, because I've been exposed to, like, my whole life. So kind of came real easy for me.
[00:04:17] Scott,
[00:04:18] when you thinking when you think about if you turned out straight and you had to face being parents are really like, know,
[00:04:26] what the grandparents gonna think.
[00:04:29] I don't think it would really be a shot. Because like, you know, because my Nana and a partner voice it, you know, we love you, no matter what you do, like even, like, you know, if I wasn't gay, that's still have the same love for me. We just kind of like a real special kind of connecting bond now, because of it. We're kind of like, make jokes about each other's sexuality and stuff. So it's a really good relationship between us.
[00:04:50] So how about coming out how was coming out to them? Um,
[00:04:56] well, I kind of sat down, I kind of told him when I've got my, my head like a when I go. And I was like, I like this girl. And my Nana was like, What's about time? We've known it since you were like six. And I was like, Oh, well, why didn't you mention earlier? So I thought you like figure it out yourself? You know, it's all about finding out yourself. So yeah, they just kind of like, go so yeah, it's great about time just made jokes about it. And it was like, automatic desensitized, so I never had a real issue with it.
[00:05:22] That's good. How about your friend?
[00:05:24] Um, my friends have always known like, because they said, I appear quite masculine, masculine, androgynous and stuff. So they've always kind of known, even like my primary school friends who I haven't talked to since I was like, 10. I spoke with them like recently, you know, and they're like, Oh, you have a girlfriend, blah, blah, like, yeah, and like, I've always known like me, my parents always talk louder than me. Like, I bet she's gonna be a lesbian or that sort of thing. So, yes, I don't think so. Yeah, like this, I've never actually had an issue with anyone come, like telling you about my sexuality and stuff. So it's good.
[00:05:59] So have
[00:06:00] you ever had
[00:06:02] so being in the that sort of environment? Have you ever had issues in the community?
[00:06:08] Um, I have had a small amount of issues in the community, because there are certain people who used to go to my school, who had, you know, quite strong opinions about gays and lesbians, and etc, etc.
[00:06:23] But there are the only kind of race issues when I started my que si. And they express it in a way of like, violence, like throwing things at ability and like doing a protest against me, you know, this little thing. But yeah, it's crazy man, what just one person during the sort of led by one person, but then of course, you know, in high school. Yeah, one person they want follows. A small pack of guys who were like,
[00:06:47] gay is not the way out the gate.
[00:06:51] And I was like, you know, what, I'm going to take,
[00:06:54] I'm going to take this, like a senior member of the school and address that problem, because it isn't going to happen to me who people see me as like a leader in the school, because you know, and a lot of people kind of look up to me and how I handle things. So I didn't want to retaliate. In a way that would make me look just as bad as them. So I took it maturely, and kind of, like, took it off senior staff member and then addressed it, you know, pretty well, and then the situation was handled. And, you know, they got what was, yeah, they got a good talking to about it. So that was really good. But that's the only real issue I've had in the community.
[00:07:28] having only one issue, that's a good thing. Yeah, it is. It's really good. So, so your friends were fine. with you being out? How else? People that's not your friends. Apart from the big random parties that just randomly happen at school? Oh,
[00:07:46] which by the way, I've the
[00:07:50] teachers and even notice that there's a big random parties. Yeah.
[00:07:55] How is red ran people from the streets take it.
[00:08:00] I want to say random people in a straight I'll say people, like, you know, at school who are acquaintances we never really hang out with, they kind of see it as like a, like a good thing. Like, like, oh, that, like when I'm at a party. So then all of a sudden, she's a lesbian. It's like, okay, automatic label, but that's okay. Because, you know, that's how they want to go about it. But they kind of like see it, Mike, and I appreciate it way. Because I always come to me like, Oh, you're so brave. Like you're so confident who you are. And it's really, you know, it's good to see someone so confident and kind of like that kind of boast experts about it. So like, people who I'm not that close. So like complete strangers who know of me a real have a really good, like, outlook on me. And a good opinion of me, which is nice enough. Yeah, it's all
[00:08:39] good. So how did you feel when you came out?
[00:08:42] I'm relieved, because it was it was more of a thing for myself that anyone else. But yeah, I just finally felt that I could just come to terms with myself and just like, be able to express herself without being like, what am I doing? Am I doing this right? Like, what am I doing? And then of course, it helps as well, because I was involved at Randy's at a time. And so that may not have the atra support there. And people like Priscilla and Tommy and all the other facilitators who there at the time, they really helped me through it, which was really good.
[00:09:11] And you're doing it right knowledge. You're giving a review for like a while now haven't Yeah, I've been doing this since I was
[00:09:18] just two and 14.
[00:09:20] Some 18. year four years. Yeah, four years?
[00:09:27] As long as Tommy?
[00:09:28] ages. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So.
[00:09:34] So you've had a lot of positive things as well.
[00:09:38] So have you been in relationships?
[00:09:40] I have? Yes. How's the relationships for you? Oh, great. Like, you know,
[00:09:46] loving who I love really
[00:09:49] have
[00:09:50] with has you having to lesbian parents affected your relationship better? Um,
[00:09:59] I'd say it's, hasn't affected it. But it's kind of made it a bit easier because
[00:10:04] one of the persons people I dated recently, her parents at first were not accepting of her sexuality and mine and our relationship in general. Like, they were just like, this is not such a shock to us, you know, we don't understand it. And so the other my dad, the person kind of found comfort with my family, because we're so accepting. And there's like, it's pretty much just a house full of gays really. And so it's actually quite a plus, because a couple of my closest friends a lesbian as well. And their parents don't know about it. And so, you know, it's kind of like a big shelter. Like house we can go and just feel safe. So it's been really good. So yeah.
[00:10:41] Oh, bunch of case in one house. Yeah, pretty much like the reenactment of Coors Park. Pretty cool. Yeah.
[00:10:54] So what is your definition of virginity? degeneracy? Yeah.
[00:11:01] Wow. Wow. How?
[00:11:06] Not having sex with someone. Like, I don't know.
[00:11:11] It's such a strong emotional, which is where
[00:11:15] yet? Like,
[00:11:19] huh? Yeah, I don't really know what to say about that. Other than, like, it's just a word with a meaning. You know, of course, that means multiple person is different. Every person but yeah, you can go to altos for that say.
[00:11:35] Are you a virgin? I'm not a virgin.
[00:11:41] experiences.
[00:11:43] Will co host
[00:11:47] on the Fraser hit.
[00:11:52] co hosting.
[00:11:54] Okay. So, do people get jealous of you having the fam parents,
[00:12:01] um, I think a couple of my friends who because of the situation, they can't tell their parents, I wouldn't call it jealousy. Because like, you know, their parents or their parents and stuff. But I think, like, some people see it as a really good thing, but I don't see I just see it as normal. So you know, but definitely, I think it's been helpful for my friends and like everyone around me to know that, you know, no one's having trouble, or like, because one of my best girlfriends, he's gay. And he was having real trouble with his parents, his dad was really just cruel about the whole thing when he came out to him. And so my nana, And I went around and pick them up, and stuff. And he and he lived with us for like, two weeks. So that was really nice. And he like, we talked about the situation that he was in, and we managed to, like, just kind of solve the problem. And so and now he has a pretty good relationship with his dad. So I think it's really good that people know that, like, me, my family there for anyone. So it's really good.
[00:13:01] So what else? What other support do you have? Um,
[00:13:04] aside from rainbow, us and my family, I have my friends. They're really supportive. Like, we've been friends for ages, so they don't really see my sexuality anything. Um, yeah, that's why I really, I've really, because you know, you have a really good organization, you have a good family, you have good friends. Well, that's good in it. Yeah.
[00:13:23] And so you have a really big massive issues apart from a random party. So if you had given the big massive issues within the community, like big, massive arguments about within the community about the most random of subjects or something like that,
[00:13:41] um, No, man, it's actually really chilled. I'm actually really, really grateful because I've heard like horror stories about stuff. And so I kind of mentioned what that's like, but I've actually been really good. Yeah.
[00:13:54] Have you apart from the big mess of process? Have you received any abuse? Yeah,
[00:14:00] I have over the years, but that's just what comes with it. Because like, I understand that it is, even though it is classed as homophobia, I kind of respect it as so that's his opinion. Because like, I'm not going to hate them for their opinion, if they're going to hate me for mine for things so I just kind of see it as like a well I'm I don't agree that but I respect what you're saying. I understand like, you know, people said upbringing some religions will stuff that I don't agree with anything. But you know, yeah, I just don't see it as an issue.
[00:14:30] If they've been the reactive person. For those of us haven't, you know,
[00:14:34] I've never really like directly or intentionally retaliated. It could be mama dropping just like we like Ah, so yeah,
[00:14:43] but I've never actually like retaliated any hateful or any, like intentionally harming like actions towards him because it just makes you just as bad as him.
[00:14:54] Well, thank you for the interview.
[00:14:55] That's fine. You