LGBT narratives

We Are the Youth is an ongoing photojournalism project that shares the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth in the United States.  We Are the Youth addresses the lack of visibility of LGBTQ young people by providing a space to share stories in an honest and respectful way. 

I’m From Driftwood aims to help LGBTQ people learn more about their community, straight people learn more about their neighbors and everyone learn more about themselves through the power of storytelling and story sharing. The goal is to increase empathy and empower individuals by creating an apolitical forum for LGBTQ stories from every age, race, gender, background and culture. 

The Understanding LGBTQ+ Identity: A Toolkit for Educators Collection offers a series of digital media resources to help educators understand and effectively address the complex and difficult issues faced by LGBTQ students. The collection features short segments of video content from WNET’s First Person, a digital series that delivers candid personal narratives illustrating larger conversations about gender, sexuality, social norms, and identity development. The video content is scaffolded by a suite of materials (informational text, conversation guides, discussion questions, and teaching tips) to facilitate their use in professional development settings. 
Created by the New York City Department of Education, PBS Learning Media and the New York City Council. 

The Pye/Harris Legacy Project (PHLP) was inspired by Ed Pye and Bob Harris, a couple who created four videos of interviews between students and gay and lesbian elders which chronicle the trials and tribulations of the 1950s, 60s. 70s, and 80s. The purpose of the project is to reassure young gay people they are not alone and that living with pride and dignity creates a powerful political statement. In addition to the videos, teachers can access a curriculum, which offers key landmark events, people, and moments in LGBT history for each decade along with suggested activities. 

The New York Public Library's Community Oral History Project teamed up with the NYC Trans Oral History Project to collect, preserve, and share oral histories from the transgender and gender non-conforming communities. This archive documents transgender resistance and resilience in New York City. These narratives are collected to confront the erasure of trans lives and to record diverse histories of gender as intersecting with race and racism, poverty, dis/ability, aging, housing migration, sexism, and the AIDS crisis. On this site you can listen to interviews, search interviews tags (like #genderfluidity #self-knowledge #gentrification and #queerfamily), and (soon) read transcripts. 

Content warning: Many of the interviews here include personal accounts of violence, sexual assault, or abuse as children. 

As part of a series of editorials about transgender experiences, the New York Times is featuring personal stories that reflect the strength, diversity and challenges of the community.