I recently came out to myself (i dunno if that counts for anything but whatever haha) as potentially bisexual, but haven't really explored. So I signed up for a Q&A (queers and allies) mentoring group at the college I'm going to this fall, but now I'm really nervous. Have any of you been to something similar? What usually goes on? How private was it? etcccc.
Hey, I think you're doing the right thing. I'm a guest psychologist on a gay radio program in Mexico City, so if you have any questions I'd be happy to chat with you about it. I think what you can expect from this group is discussion on the experience of being gay, what everyone might be experiencing within their families etc... and a place for people to go so they don't feel alone. There might also be activities that promote social awareness of the LGBT community as a way to integrate into the dominant culture. You might want to find out how private this club usually is. Clubs like this usually promote pride in one's sexual identity so don't expect secrecy, but I'm sure that you can expect the discretion of others in the group. Congrats on taking care of yourself and taking the time to think about what this means to you.
I'm vice president of my college's GSA. Privacy and all that is probably our top priority. We have a facebook page, but we always take extreme care and caution not to post pictures without clear and explicit permission of each of our members in the photo. We also refrain from mentioning the names of people in GSA outside of GSA without permission. I'm not out to my family, so all of these things were very appreciated by me. We all understand that people are at different stages of coming out whether or not they're questioning, out to their friends, out at school, out at home, etc and that's something we take great care to respect. Our goal is to offer a supportive environment for our peers regardless of their sexuality, so people are free to state their orientation, but we don't even ask. We recognize that people need and deserve love and support regardless of how much detail into their current life situation they're willing to give, so that's what we try to provide. As far as what usually goes on, we talked a lot about lgbt issues, relationships, things that were bugging us, etc. We did a couple of events and tabled so that people would know we existed, but other than that we pretty much became friends and the official/meeting aspect of the club dissolved into hanging out, supporting each other, and doing neat stuff.
Thanks for the replies, seriously I really appreciate hearing reassuring things! There's a peer mentor for the group, would it be weird if I added him on Facebook and sent a message? What do I say?
Nah that wouldn't be awkward, just say you're interested in the group, but have a few questions about privacy and what they do at meetings, etc. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to tell you about it.
gays are by and large a loving and welcoming crowd. we have all shared a similar experience and so are quite good at taking care of one another. don't feel weird about reaching out to anyone, i'm sure many of the group members would be thrilled to speak with you! this is a pretty confusing time for you, i'm sure. good for you for pursuing your identity.
CONGRATZ on coming out, its not easy. As OP have said, most Q&A, LGBT, GSA know what its like out there. These are safe places for people to come to and be whom they want to be without fear. Good luck and have fun, make some new friends.