Happy Pride with Laurine Kulczycky

I’m a lesbian. Were words that I felt so terrified to say for most of my life. I remember the first time I felt attracted to another girl. I was around 10 years old and my sister, her friend and I were all playing house. Ironically I had the role of the dad. My sister’s friend and I were lying in my mother’s bed pretending to sleep. And I felt something weird and I knew something wasn’t right because I had the same feeling inside as if I liked a boy. Needless to say, it scared the crap out of me.

As I grew up and went through high school. The feelings started getting stronger and stronger. I started to know what it meant but I was still VERY uncomfortable with it. I thought to myself.  How can I like boys and girls at the same time? I felt so confused and so alone because I couldn’t tell anyone in fear of losing all my friends and family. My friends would make gay jokes and say how gross it was and being catholic it was an automatic sin.

I continued to hide my feelings and date only boys throughout high school because I didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t until I graduated high school and was 19 years old when I came out for the first time to my friends. I couldn’t take the hiding anymore and the confusion of whether I liked boys or girls. I needed to find out for myself and get a girlfriend. They were all completely fine with it and were all very supportive.

The second time I came out was with my first girlfriend or my “best friend.” This is what I told my family to hide it. It worked for a while. Until one day my mom just came out and asked us if we were dating. My girlfriend at the time said, “I’m not going to lie to you, yes we are.” So that was that. The cat was out of the bag. My mom said, ‘Ok!” and we met the rest of the family and had dinner. That was the end of that conversation. By the next day everyone in my family knew (except my grandmother) and everyone was fine with it. The last time I came out was when I was 23 to my grandmother. That conversation didn’t go over too well. She said, “I will pray for you” and didn’t say another word. It took her about a month to get over it and accept it.  Now she absolutely adores my fiancé Tiffanie. 

I didn’t have a hard time like a lot of other people. I had things quite easy. Everyone who I thought was going to abandon me didn’t. Everyone who I loved accepted me for who I was. I am very grateful to have such a loving, supportive group of friends and family. Unfortunately that’s not the case for a lot of people. There are many people from the LGBTQ community that are abandoned, abused and even killed for being, “different.”

Pride is not about walking around naked, or in assless chaps in downtown Toronto. Pride is about acceptance. Pride speaks for those who can’t speak for themselves. Those who have been abandoned, raped, brutally abused or killed. Pride is about freedom to be who you want to be. About freedom to love whomever you want to love. And the ability to marry and have rights just like everybody else. Peace, love and happiness to you all.

HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE!

Laurine Kulczycky