LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[alexisrambles]

Well I'm gonna jump in here despite the kinda not-nice reaction from some people lol.

Hi, I'm Alexis, and I'm bi/nb. I'm interested in this thread because there are some struggles that other LGBT people will understand better and we can commiserate and support each other. It's like threads about chicken keepers in Louisiana. There are some aspects of life that others in that situation will understand better!

I'm a librarian, but from a young age I always wanted to be a farmer. Because of sexism in my family I was heavily discouraged, but as an adult I understand myself better and don't feel pressured to conform to my family's expectations as much.

Honestly chickens are the best choice I've made in my life! I love being involved in the BYC community, and I love spending time with my chickens.

I hope this doesn't change anyone's impression of me.

 

[allosaurusrock]

Well I'm gonna jump in here despite the kinda not-nice reaction from some people lol.

Hi, I'm Alexis, and I'm bi/nb. I'm interested in this thread because there are some struggles that other LGBT people will understand better and we can commiserate and support each other. It's like threads about chicken keepers in Louisiana. There are some aspects of life that others in that situation will understand better!

I'm a librarian, but from a young age I always wanted to be a farmer. Because of sexism in my family I was heavily discouraged, but as an adult I understand myself better and don't feel pressured to conform to my family's expectations as much.

Honestly chickens are the best choice I've made in my life! I love being involved in the BYC community, and I love spending time with my chickens.

I hope this doesn't change anyone's impression of me.

Welcome to the thread! It’s cool to see another trans person on here. I’m sorry your family wasn’t so supportive.

 

[allosaurusrock]

Im going to ignore those asking why the thread and also anyone saying the things we may discuss shouldn’t be discussed. It’s important for you, for others who land here via google, and for all of us really. If they cared to learn they could read the thread.

My advice is to go for it... all in. Many times in life I’ve held myself back for things in my own head. You don’t want to do that. There are aspects of your life that may be difficult whether or not you follow an Ag path, whether or not you come from a perspective of a gay/trans youth. That can be the same for anyone coming from any situation.

I’ve also realized I could have saved myself heartache by opening dialogue from the beginning. If you want to live your college career “out” you need to go into it out. Call and ask at the schools you are looking at. Talk to the Ag teachers/advisors. Talk to the LGBT outreach folks. Find out exactly what the culture is like instead of assuming. You may be shocked (both that your assumptions were correct and incorrect at times) but you’ll be informed and prepared.

sometimes people are afraid of differences, but overall, the farming and ranching community has been UNQUESTIONABLY supportive of me and my family on a personal, individual level.

I really find it interesting how in real life AG folks at shows and otherwise have been very supportive, but online there are people who attack. They all come out of the woodworks I guess. I’m not sure if I want to go to college as being openly trans, especially since I will be starting Hormone Therapy in February and might have the option of going stealth.

 

[NHMountainMan]

I'm glad to see the moderators allowing this thread.

How people choose to identify community is their decision, not mine, yours or anyone else's.
Who cares how people connect on this site - how does it impact you?

The only one community I hope doesn't congregate on BYC: bullies.

Live and let live ; live free or die

 

[alexisrambles]

Welcome to the thread! It’s cool to see another trans person on here. I’m sorry your family wasn’t so supportive.

Well not QUITE trans. And I'm not really bothered by the pronouns I was given at birth. Just the expectations that came with them!

And my family came around in the end. It just took some work on both our parts.

I was honestly happy to see this thread so yay! SUPPORT WOOHOO.

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

Are there any other LGBT folks on this site? I tried to make a thread a few years ago but it got removed. I think it would be cool to have a little community on here!

Even thought I can’t relate to some of your struggles, I’m proud of you for not being ashamed of who you are and searching for others similar to you. I’m sure that it is a scary thing to post so openly about this. I hope that you find the community that you are searching for! God bless you and merry Christmas!

 

[GayChicken]

I am. Nice to meet you! Me and my lil family, husband and toddler, live in TX and I have horses and chickens. Anywhere from 30-100 at a time, but that’s mostly to raise meat birds. I have about 25 layers. We are actually going to expand our meat bird side just a little bit to officially raise meat for our family and friends that want to pay us for it.


There is just all kinds of reasons why people find commonality amongst each other. If it were just as simple as being a chicken keeper, there would only need to be one forum.

there are countless threads that discuss husbands, spouses, etc., and because we live in a heteronormative culture, you don’t see those as advertising a sex preference, but that’s exactly what they are doing. You just don’t notice because it’s an ingrained perspective in our society. No one pops on those to ask why sexual preference is being advertised or why anyone needs to know the OP is straight...

Interestingly, and back on topic, my entire chicken keeping journey, especially my meat bird journey, has been an attempt to reclaim a path of my life I tried to have from a young age. Unfortunately, because I felt stigma and pressures and did not feel like I appropriately fit in with the Ag crowd growing up, I’m 20 years behind where I should be. Maybe that’s better said as where I “could” be, because it’s important to be grateful for our journeys wherever they lead.

I’m sorry to hear that you got dissuaded and had a later start in the Ag industry than what you’d like, but I think it’s great you’ve preserved despite that initial bump in the road.
I’m in university currently so I know our experiences aren’t the same, but having faced discrimination from being both disabled and LGBT+ it did deter me a bit from pursuing that career path. It’s always nice to hear of people who despite a rough start, persevered and are happy at where they’re at. Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I wish you and your family all the best with your future broiler expansion.

 

[ShannonR]

First, hi. All are welcome here! This is a great chicken community.

I'm not trying to be judgemental, and encourage what you are trying to do with this thread. But do have some input... I'm non-biased as to the subject matter, for whatever that's worth.

But I could see this kind of thread doing the opposite of what you would like to see. Instead of bringing together certain members within our chicken community, it may actually cause a division of sorts. You know, an us against them type of thing, especially from some who are less accepting of alternative lifestyles. I don't want to see that.

 

[alexisrambles]

First, hi. All are welcome here! This is a great chicken community.

I'm not trying to be judgemental, and encourage what you are trying to do with this thread. But do have some input... I'm non-biased as to the subject matter, for whatever that's worth.

But I could see this kind of thread doing the opposite of what you would like to see. Instead of bringing together certain members within our chicken community, it may actually cause a division of sorts. You know, an us against them type of thing, especially from some who are less accepting of alternative lifestyles. I don't want to see that.

Well on my side of it I guess my question is... if not here, where? This is the best community for chicken keepers I've been a part of. It's a contentious subject for sure. I don't want to upset people. I love the community here, but it is hard to not talk about something that's a pretty big part of my life.

 

[GayChicken]

First, hi. All are welcome here! This is a great chicken community.

I'm not trying to be judgemental, and encourage what you are trying to do with this thread. But do have some input... I'm non-biased as to the subject matter, for whatever that's worth.

But I could see this kind of thread doing the opposite of what you would like to see. Instead of bringing together certain members within our chicken community, it may actually cause a division of sorts. You know, an us against them type of thing, especially from some who are less accepting of alternative lifestyles. I don't want to see that.

That would definitely be a very sad consequence of this thread, and unfortunately, it is not up to our control at all, but up to the rest of the byc community. For me, the pros of finding a supportive environment far outweigh that risk.

It’s up to other LGBT+ members whether they want to expose themselves to potential discrimination, and is a risk I’m sure we all have at the forefront of our minds. So far there has been good support from admins and other members, and that’s really great to see.