“Growing Up Gay: Why Quiet Representation in Books Matters More Than Ever” by Mo Fanning

“Growing Up Gay: Why Quiet Representation in Books Matters More Than Ever” by Mo Fanning

I didn’t equate ‘poufter’ with homosexuality. At ten, I’m not sure anyone truly grasped what being gay meant, beyond it being something to mock. I certainly didn’t. The unease I felt was nameless, shapeless. Something different lay inside me, but there was no language for it yet. It just hovered, marking me out, vulnerable and visible. School magnified my differences. Good at English, always top of the class in storytelling—this could have been …

Queer, Devout, and In Between: Navigating Sexuality and Spirituality as a Young Person

The tension of being both queer and devout is one many young people live with. It’s two identities the world most often insists must cancel each other out.