Our mission: We seek to fulfill a broad mandate, including:

• providing a place for LGBTQ students, staff, faculty and alumni to socialize;
• providing opportunities for our members to get involved in political action and community building;
• working with other groups to challenge oppression and discrimination, and to promote equity on campus and in society;
• fighting heterosexism, sexism, transphobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, and homophobia in as many ways as possible, no matter where they appear or how they present themselves.

Fighting oppression: Oppression is something that LGBTQ people have to deal with every day, just by virtue of being queer. It takes many different forms and is experienced differently depending on whether a person is lesbian, bisexual, gay, transsexual, transgender and/ or queer; their gender identity, age, race, ethno-cultural background, physical abilities, class, religion, etc. In fact, there are as many different forms of oppression as there are oppressed people.
          At the most basic level biphobia, lesbophobia, transphobia, and homophobia are about fear and hatred of people who transgress society?s expectations about gender and sexuality. These societal biases and assumptions about what is ?normal? form the basis of heterosexism, the idea that heterosexuality is inherently superior to other sexualities, and the assumption that everyone is heterosexual by default.
          People who are the target of oppression can face derisive remarks, harassment, and physical violence. Systemic discrimination and oppression by institutions can limit opportunity and restrict freedoms. Sadly, this sometimes occurs within the LGBTQ community itself. The fundamental long-term goal of LGBTOUT is the improvement of the learning, living, and working environments for LGBTQ people on all three U of T campuses, to the point where we are free from harassment, discrimination, and hatred.

Coming out: A generalized definition of ?coming out? involves recognizing your sexual or gender attractions, orientations, or identities?an acceptance of yourself as lesbian, gay, transgendered, bisexual, and/ or queer, and sharing that identity with others. Coming out is an ongoing process and a challenging one! Even people who are fully out all the time end up in places where they have to come out all over again - it is something that LGBTQ people live with every day. Even though it can be difficult, it can be fun and rewarding as well!
          There is no single correct way to come out. It begins at different ages for different people, and everyone experiences it differently and at their own pace. People come out in a variety of ways; it could be as direct as telling a family member or friend, or as subtle as holding a partner?s hand while walking down the street. It can be made easier or more difficult depending on an individual?s environment, race, perceived as well as lived gender, age, physical abilities, religion, etc. At U of T, the level of LGBTQ positivity at your campus, department, faculty, college, and/ or residence may also influence your coming out experiences. Because coming out is both an internal and an external process it?s often helpful to share it with someone else?your friends, your peers, other LGBTQ people, a counsellor, a family member, or someone at LGBTOUT or the Lesbian Gay Bi Youth line.

What LGBTOUT does: LGBTOUT works to improve the lives of LGBTQ people on campus and in our community by:

• Ensuring that our drop-in centre is a comfortable and inviting space staffed by friendly and well-informed volunteers;
• Working in solidarity with other campus groups fighting oppression like the Women?s Centre, the Sexual Education Centre, the Graduate Students Union, and OPIRG;
• Maintaining connections with other LGBTQ organizations, like RyePride, TBLGAY at York, the Toronto Bisexual Network, Supporting Our Youth, and others;
• Organizing social events including Homohops, Hussihops, readings, film screenings, discussion groups, bingo nights, boys? and girls? nights out and other fun stuff;
• Undertaking political actions including kiss-ins, demonstrations, and poster campaigns to raise visibility of queer issues on campus;
• Representing the interests of LGBTQ students on and to other campus committees and organizations;
• Educating people through panel discussions, awareness events and by just being ourselves.