By GLYNIS HART
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — Thursday was National Coming Out Day, and October is LGBTQ History Month. Rural Outright, which offers free support to lesbian, gay, bi- and transexual, queer and non-binary youth, is celebrating the month with a series of events.
Thursday night a new exhibit celebrating positive self-esteem opened in the atrium of the Claremont Opera House. Called “Love Your Selfie,” the exhibit features selfies from local youth, as well as ones as far away as California.
“We leveraged our social media,” said Matt Mooshian, who helped organize the exhibit. “We were able to find them through the hashtag #LoveYourSelfie, then we went to CVS and printed them all out.”
“It was important to have faces of visible support,” said Mooshian. Young people discovering they have feelings that aren’t “normal” can feel lonely and isolated, disappointed in themselves or fearful of social repercussions — and that doesn’t even begin to touch on how other people may respond to them. LoveYourSelfie “is about loving where you are,” said Mooshian.
The 60-or-so selfies clipped to colored yarn show couples and single people, old and young, people with pets and people with friends.
What makes a good selfie?
“One of two things,” said Mooshian. “Being in a cool place, or if something really big happened. I like the celebration aspect of it — it’s good if there’s something more important than yourself in the picture.”
“Good lighting,” said Janie Dunchack thoughtfully. “Making sure your personality shines through. I’m not a selfie person at all — I don’t know how people take good selfies. I absolutely hate pictures of myself.”
Cody White and his dad, Mark, lined up for a picture next to Cody’s selfie. “We look alike,” said Mark.
Regular old straight people were encouraged to add their photos to the exhibit to show support. “Allies are important,” said Liz Draper, another of the show’s organizers.
“There’s not many opportunities to take a selfie for a good cause,” said Mooshian. “It’s not just for yourself; you’re part of a community.”
Upcoming events for LGBT History month include the screening of the film “Milk” about San Francisco mayor Harvey Milk tonight at the Center for Recovery, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, email [email protected].
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