Teens are using yearbook quotes to show their LGBTQ pride — and they're delightful

Cindy Arboleda
These three teens are among those who have celebrated being LGBTQ with a senior yearbook quote. (Photo: Twitter)
These three teens are among those who have celebrated being LGBTQ with a senior yearbook quote. (Photo: Twitter)

Graduation season is here. And as tradition dictates, seniors have carefully selected quotes to accompany their yearbook photos and forever reflect who they were during this crucial time. And for many LGBTQ teens, that means coming out — whether for the first or just the latest, most permanent in-print time, according to a flurry of social media posts.

California native Adam Clark choose his senior quote to be a subtle nod to preferred genitalia: “I went from V’s to D’s real quick.” He explains that high school was the time when he came to terms with who he is.

“During freshman year I dated this girl for a little over a year. We broke up because I told her I was bi and that I was interested in guys,” the 18-year-old tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “As the years went on, I started experimenting with guys and getting a better understanding of what I wanted.”

So when it was time to choose his senior quote, he decided to use this experience as inspiration for what to write. “I thought of a funny way to say it and that’s how I came up with ‘I went from V’s to D’s real quick.’ I did not think they would have kept it in, but when I saw it I was amazed,” he says.

Tate Benson, GLSEN’s Youth Engagement Associate, tells Yahoo Lifestyle this rising trend could be attributed to the level of safety — or lack thereof — teens might feel when coming out in their communities.

“We tell students the most important thing to remember is that you get to decide when, if, and how you come out,” Benson says. “Some students do not have the benefit of having a safe school environment to share their identities while still in school. Coming out in a yearbook quote, for some high school seniors, may be a safer way to make a statement and share with their school who they are.”

According to GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey, nearly nine in 10 LGBTQ students experience verbal harassment in school. Benson says students choose to come out through their yearbook statements because it provides them the opportunity to claim their identity without having to face the Instagram or Facebook comments section when posting online via social media, but it still gives them a big platform to come out to their entire school community at once.

“This is just one of the many creative ways young people have chosen to express their individuality and demonstrate their pride in who they are,” they say.

Clark says his coming-out process was difficult because his friends have changed through the years, and the full support of his family has not been unanimous. But he says he’ll forever find a giggle from reading his senior quote and being able to embrace who he is. And so will his Twitter fans. “HAHAHA YES QWEEN!!” raved one, while another offered this as praise: “Iconic.”

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