Hi everyone. My name's Sarah, and I'm new at this, so don't hate me if I suck. I wish I had something witty or pithy to intro myself with, but I really don't. In fact, I'm kind of boring (actually, that's a lie, but if I tell you I'm exciting, you'll set higher standards for me. I don't mind low standards, that way I always reach them).

Well, I'll tell you a little bit about myself, as I've recently become the 1st girl in this "all boys club" (oh geez, now I sound like Sarah Palin...just wait until I start talking about her!). Anyway, I'm a 20 year old girl from Milwaukee, WI, I go to school in Pella, IA (yes, that's where they make the windows; no, I cannot get you a discount on said windows), and soon I'll be studying abroad in Johannesburg, South Africa for 5 months. It's for the International Human Rights Exchange, so I'm pretty excited about that. Hopefully I'll have time to contribute while I'm there.

Now, what qualifies me to write for the "Gay Atheist?" I'm a bisexual (or as I like to say, half gay) atheist. I was raised in a very religious neighborhood and attended Catholic school for 10 straight years, and attended non-denominational Bible studies every week for several years, so I'm pretty well-versed in the ways of Christianity and the Bible...which is probably why I'm an atheist. I feel the more that you know about the Bible, the less you believe it.

This is probably the point at which I should let you know that if you don't agree with me, you'll probably be offended by what I say. To that, I say: go cry about it. No, honestly. If you're going to get your panties in a bunch over something someone wrote on the internet, then you shouldn't be on the internet. I'll listen to you if you disagree with me (you can always leave comments or email me at Sarah@thegayatheist.com), and we can discuss/debate, but I'll probably still find you wrong. Just giving you warning ahead of time.

I was tempted to create this account under a pseudonym, as my family and many of the people around me don't really know that I'm an atheist or half gay (even though both are listed on my Facebook, and everyone knows Facebook = the real world). Some of my family would be okay with the atheism, shocked at the gayness, some of them would be okay with the gayness, and horrified by the atheism...I'm fairly certain none of them would be happy with me, though. Granted, I've always been the black sheep of my family, but due to the fact that I still live in my parents' house during school breaks, I'm trying my best not to completely ostracize myself from them, lest I be kicked out on my own, which I surely cannot afford at this juncture in my life.

It's very disappointing that I cannot come out to my family about either thing, as I consider those both to be very important aspects of my life, though not the only ones. Part of the reason why I don't want to come out to non-family is because I think to tell people that I'm bisexual would make me lose some of my credibility, so to say. Now clearly I'm not saying that gays or atheists are not credible people, but the stereotype out there is that gay people are all flamboyant parade marchers and atheists are evil baby killers. Granted, we all know that's not true, but stereotypes are very harmful. I guess I should stand up and claim both of these aspects of my life, as I am proud of them, and I can help to extinguish those stereotypes, at least in people I know. But, I have to admit, I'm very afraid.

What about you? Are you "out" about everything in your life? Have any advice for someone who's new at this?

Hope this wasn't terrible. Thanks for reading! :)