“The rigid area of the club room bound by the four walls became a mobile liminal “space” that the members carried with them as they moved throughout the rest of their world…A place did not have to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual to be safe any longer…This mobile safe space forced nongay environments to become gay-friendly in their eyes.” – Richard Barry Sheltered “Children”

“Anywhere I can feel comfortable being gay is a gay place.” – John

Firstly, I feel great about students being able to have a safe place that then makes them feel comfortable enough in their own skin to not fear the outside world anymore. Sometimes people only have their safe places and societal issues slap them in the face every time they leave it. But even feeling comfortable with your own identity is one step to better navigate the great big world. We should encourage this more often for adolescents. Improvement starts with yourself and then spreads to the world. Whether it be improving ourselves so as not to discriminate against others or whether it be becoming more comfortable in the skin we are in. Because sometimes we take in what the world has to say about us and we begin to think, maybe they’re right. Maybe there is something wrong with me that I should be scared to walk around like this. Sometimes in way too dangerous and violent environments, self-confidence in being gay may only worsen the situation. But many times, it can give a person the daily peace of mind they need to keep going. If these adolescents know that they have a support system in this safe space, they will carry it internally everywhere they go.