ClexaCon 2018 – Panel Spotlight

By starrymag | March 26, 2018

By: Krista Freego

 

 

Safe Place Panel:  I’m Coming Out

 

 

WHAT IS IT?

 

It is a panel where non-celebrities talk about, share and answer questions about their coming out stories and their experiences since coming out.

 

WHEN IS IT?

 

Saturday, April 7^th, 5:00 -5:50 p.m.

 

WHERE IS IT?

 

Sylvia Rivera Room

 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

 

What helped me most was having people I could talk to and listening to other people’s struggles and experiences when I was struggling with coming out. This made me feel like I wasn’t alone and made me feel like it was not insurmountable.

 

Together we can create a safe place on Saturday for the panelists to share their personal stories, for the audience to feel free to ask the panelists questions about their coming out or ask for advice and, most importantly, for the audience to feel comfortable sharing their own stories.  The LGBTQ+ community is the most welcoming, supportive community I have ever been a part of and together we can lend strength to each other. Together we can all get through the difficult process of coming out. Together we can learn from each other. Together we are stronger. Together, no one is alone.  For those who have questions for the panelists but do not want to ask those questions in front of the rest of the audience, the last ten minutes of the panel will be set aside for people to be able to come up individually to the panelists and speak to them one-on-one.

 

I, myself, live in an area of New York state that lacks diversity. in my daily life there was not anyone I could talk to face-to-face about my sexual orientation or my fears. When I came to ClexaCon in 2017, I didn’t want to leave. I just wanted to stay in my safe heavenly LGBTQ+ bubble and forever drink in the diversity, support and comforting sense of community and acceptance. This panel is for everyone! I specifically came up with the idea for the panel to help people like me who don’t live in a diverse area, who do not have people in their daily lives that they can talk face-to-face with about coming out and their sexual identity. This will be a safe place to hear other people’s stories, to share your own story or just lend a supportive ear to others in the LGBTQ+ community.

 

MY EXPERIENCE:

 

I was raised and currently reside in a very small community that completely lacks diversity. I struggled for so long with my identity and sexual orientation because no one around me was gay and it was not something that I could see on a daily basis or even monthly basis to know that my feelings were normal – that I was normal. I know a number of the people who come to ClexaCon are escaping similar communities and lives, if only for a few days. Coming to ClexaCon 2017 and being in such a supportive and accepting environment was a major factor in my decision to publicly and privately come out after I got home.

 

 

MEET THE PANELISTS:

 

Krista Freego:

 

I am a 38-year-old attorney. I write for Starry Constellation Magazine where I post a weekly web series article usually spotlighting LGBTQ+ web series. I also occasionally have the honor of guest starring in fellow panelist Katherine Kleffner’s YouTube videos. I came out as a cis-gender lesbian following my attendance at ClexaCon in 2017. I struggled for approximately fourteen years with my identity because I feared not being accepted by my family, my friends and the people in my community. The mistake I made is thinking that where I currently live is “my community.” Attending ClexaCon in 2017 was life changing! Not only did it introduce me to my best friend and current girlfriend (who is amazing), but it made me realize that where I live is not “my community.” My community, my home, is the LGBTQ+ community, which has accepted me with open arms and provided me with the strength and confidence to by true to who I am. when I came out to my family, my worst fears were confirmed (for the most part). Despite that, I weathered the storm and have not faltered in my goal to finally live my life for me and to be honest and true to who I am and what I want. If sharing my experience and my stories with others can help even one person feel like he/she/they are not alone then I am happy to share my personal experiences with a room of strangers. Fun Facts: I love to write and have written an LGBTQ+ web series called “Displaced” and I can juggle.

 

Follow these links to my coming out article posted on Starry Constellation Magazine and to my reflection article about attending ClexaCon in 2017.

 

Katherine Kleffner:

 

Katherine Kleffner is currently a writer, co-founder and YouTuber for The Nerdy Girl Express. She writes about a variety of topics, but her focus is often comics, books and web series. Katherine also currently works within the field of higher education and is hoping to find a position that will allow her to work with LGBTQ+ college students. She identifies as a cis-gender bisexual and in October of 2017 she wrote an article focused on her coming out process and the television characters that she felt connected to during that time. While she technically came out on October 1^st of 2017, she had privately discussed her sexual identity with close friends and her very supportive younger siblings before that time. Attending ClexaCon in 2017 helped to give her the courage to come out to her parents and to begin living a more open lifestyle. She is exceptionally excited to be back this year.

 

Follow this link to Katherine’s coming out article posted on The Nerdy Girl Express.

 

Jasmine Rodriguez:

 

Jasmine Rodriguez is a Latin-American in her late 30s, born in New York, but raised in Miami. She works in a corporate environment specific to the healthcare industry (her company is pro LGBTQ+ in every way). Jasmine identifies as lesbian (though she has had relations with men in her teenage years/early 20s). Jasmine has been out and proud since she was twenty-six years old! Jasmine is happily married with some very silly pets. She is also one of the co-directors of Earp Expo.

 

Somer Rutledge:

 

Somer Rutledge is twenty-four years old and was born and raised in the same small town in North Carolina that she currently lives in. Thanks to heteronormativity and a chaotic upbringing, it took until she was nearly twenty-two years old to find the best way to describe herself within the community. In terms of sexuality, she identifies as a demisexual lesbian and her gender identity is cisgender female. Somer has been out as queer for three years as of October 2017 and out specifically as a lesbian for approximately two of those years. Thankfully, she lives in a southern town that is split fairly evenly down the middle on LGBTQ+ opinions. She feels very fortunate to have a mother that has always been completely supportive of who she is in every facet of her life. Her father, whom she was estranged from until very recently, isn’t too thrilled with knowing she is gay, but at the end of the day she likes to think he is accepting enough of her as a person to not condemn her for her sexuality. Overall, her coming out experiences have been positive which she is extremely grateful for.