Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

At the request of our contributors, we are creating space for people to submit updates to the #AMPLIFY LGBTQ project. We know that for some folks, life has changed so we are offering an opportunity to post an update to earlier responses. We will NOT be modifying that content, but we will create a link to this new post. This will be open to any previous contributor.

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Next up is Rachel Lange. You can read Rachel’s original post: Lange, 41, is a Queer Single-Parent in Pittsburgh published on June 12, 2018

Name: Rachel Lange

Age: 42

County of Residence: Allegheny County

Pronouns: She/They

How do you describe your identity?Queer/Gender Fluid

Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I’m still coming out. I first came out to my friends and family as bisexual between the ages of 13 and 15. I can’t say there was a whole lot of support, but I didn’t get a negative reaction either. As a person who is oriented towards more than one gender, I feel like I’ve basically had to come out every time my relationship status changed. This can get stressful!

It has taken me a long time to find the vocabulary to talk about gender, and I still vacillate.

How would you describe yourself NOW in terms of “being out”? I tell people when it’s relevant, and it’s often relevant. I lived in the Middle East for about a decade, and stayed closeted on social media and professionally, although I was out to my friends. This took some effort. Now, I’m very out of the closet on social media and at work. It’s funny–even the more conservatively Muslim connections I had in the Middle East have stayed in touch on social media, even as I’ve ramped up the queerness on my feed.

Tell me about the first LGBTQ person whom you met. What impact did they have on your life?  One of my father’s oldest and closest friends is a gay man who I have known since I was born. I was always very excited to see him when we visited on vacations or at big life events. When I was about 8, I was watching some kind of conservative news station and I told my mother that I didn’t like gay people. She asked me if I knew any, and I named a (very straight) couple that we knew. When she corrected me and told me that M. and his partner were gay, I had a pretty formative moment. I love how she handled this–I immediately became the 8-year-old version of a media skeptic AND LGBTQIA+ rights advocate in one move!

Past or present, favorite LGBTQ character or creator in television, film or literature? Please tell us why.  There are too many to choose from! Currently, I’ve been enjoying the comics of Sophie Labelle, who writes Assigned Male. They are funny, sweet stories of middle school kids and there’s always some kind of witty social commentary..

How do you stay informed about LGBTQ issues? I obviously love Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents! I work with QueerPGH, and I feel like it is also emerging as an inclusive source for and by community members.

Describe your geographical community.  I have felt very welcomed by some of the parenting/family groups on Facebook. One of our local groups has events like bowling and camping trips. The people there are very friendly and it’s been great having some kind of continuity, seeing the same people again and again.

Describe your local or regional LGBTQ community.  I currently live in the South Hills, which is a place that has evolved significantly over the years. I was there for part of high school and got a fair bit of harassment for my nonbinary presentation. Now, however, I know other queer people in the neighborhood, and it’s one of the few areas that actually has ordinances on the books that are supportive of LGBTQIA+ people.

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Have you ever experienced discrimination based on your identity? Specifically, in a job setting, when applying for housing or while in public.   When I was younger and looked more nonbinary, I was asked to leave public bathrooms. In job settings, I’ve either worked in inclusive places or kept my queerness to myself.

Have you experienced microagressions based on your identity? Think everyday indignities & slights that you experience, but would not characterize as discrimination. Please describe in your own words. I get gendered all kinds of ways. I don’t mind people being confused, if they’re friendly about it. When I’m clearly presenting femme, though, with a dress and makeup, and someone persistently calls me ‘sir’ or refers to me as ‘he’, I feel like they’re trying to make a point. I feel like I’ve caught just as much flack from LGBTQIA+ people for aspects of my identity as I have from the rest of the world.

Tell us about your access to health care in Western PA. Has it been LGBTQ competent (or not?) It really hadn’t, until I started going to Central Outreach.

Are there issues impacting your LGBTQ neighbors that aren’t visible or part of the local dialogue? Queer people are constantly undervaluing themselves. I see a lot of queer people doing a whole lot of unpaid or underpaid labor. They work so hard and still face a massive financial struggle. This is especially acute for people of color in our area.

What would you like to see elected officials do to improve life for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians? PASS A STATEWIDE ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAW. Right now, we are only protected by local and citywide laws, but we need protection on the state level.

Please share a lived experience, anecdote or fact about life as an LGBTQ person in your community. See original answer. 

Beyond discrimination, what other barriers create challenges for your LGBTQ neighbors? The LGBTQIA+ community, especially in this area, really eats its own. I am in favor of accountability, but I’ve seen some takedowns on social media that were absolutely brutal and unproductive.

What LGBTQ friendly resources are available for your neighbors? There are so many! Pittsburgh has a rich, diverse array of resources. There are LGBTQIA+ groups for just about anything, from sports to dive bars to lesbian book clubs.

What is your greatest fear for the LGBTQ community in Western Pennsylvania?  That anxieties from financial struggle and a fractured community will prevent us from surviving and thriving in the Trump-era.

What is your greatest hope for the LGBTQ community in Western Pennsylvania? We will find a way to work together. Every time organizations work together, a queer angel gets its wings.

What can allies do to support your LGBTQ community? If you are donating to a LGBTQIA+ organization, spread it around. Learn about a few different orgs, representing different intersections within the community.

How can gay men and lesbians support the bisexual, transgender and queer members of our community? Make sure we are represented on boards, in decision making.

What motivated you to take part in this project? I have a lot of respect for the work of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents and I think that these stories are a valuable snapshot of our lives.

What question should I have asked? Please also share your answer.  How do your identities intersect? Maybe you shouldn’t have asked it–I think the answers to this might get very long! I do feel like my adoption of the identity term ‘queer’ involved more than my sexual orientation, including factors like disability, single motherhood, an evolving gender presentation, race, economic status, relationship styles, and political beliefs.

Why are you updating your #AMPLIFY contribution? I took a few steps out of my gender closet and wanted to be accurate.

Thank you, Rachel Lange.

Read the entire AMPLIFY LGBTQ Q&A archive.

Submit your own Q&A using our online form.

AMPLIFY LGBTQ is a series of blog posts designed to give a “signal boost” to the voices of our LGBTQ neighbors throughout Western Pennsylvania. These are glimpses in to the lived experiences of LGBTQ people in Western Pennsylvania as told in their own voices.