Raven really is a good force in the Netherlands I feel like. I don’t regularly watch TV, but a while ago I was at my parents and there we had a TV show on which primarily featured Raven inviting guests on their farm. My parents, who normally are mostly okay with trans stuff but also quite unaware and a bit ignorant, seemed to like Raven as a person and therefore also seemed quite open to their identity and opinions. The show also contained some candid discussions about the subject, including the impact of the way people still fail to fully accept people who don’t fit the binary. I think Raven actually contributes a lot to Intersex and non-binary awareness.

I was kinda hoping to figure this stuff out before non-binary day, so it would be a day of celebration. But honestly I still don’t really understand what I feel like. I’m AMAB. For years I’ve felt like my perfect “me”, if life had a character creator, would be a neutral or more AFAB body (without boobs) and a more masc clothing style. I was generally at peace with everything though, thinking “nobody looks exactly how they want to look like”. However, a bit over a year ago I started exploring more of my feminine side and honestly it’s thrown everything into chaos. Painting my nails, shaving all body hair, (privately) wearing feminine clothes. Many days I come back to the feeling that I wish that I was AFAB. But still idk what I’d present like if that were the case.

One day I’ll damn it all and decide that I have no issue with being male, the next day I desperately wish I was a girl (and I’ll fantasize about being one), and the next day I decide that I must be non-binary. It’s quite chaotic and I’m kinda confused about it all. I never used to feel like this. For now my conclusion is that it’s fine to explore it all, there’s no rush to get it right. I’m probably “at least” NB, and maybe even completely a trans woman. But as long as I’m happy and just learning a bit more about myself every month, it’s not big deal.

Had no real issues coming out as aro/ace. That being said, I’ve never really mentioned it at work and I’m also a bit cautious of doing so. The atmosphere there isn’t necessarily anti-lgbt, but also definitely not very pro-lgbt. But I’m out to friends and parents and had no issues there

I’m aro/ace, and never felt attraction to anyone. Being sex-repulsed, I also had a hard time with the constant stream sexual topics coming up all the time. For the longest time I just felt like something was wrong with me, because no one told me that being aro/ace was an option. Everyone around me was talking about love and sex, and sometimes also asking me about these topics. I just pretended to be straight but “focussing on school and hobbies” so I didn’t" have the time" for a relationship.

At some point in my early-mid twenties I ran into a survey which listed “asexual” as an option, and I just selected it without really knowing what the exact definition was, because it felt like a perfect description. After this happened another time a few weeks later (I like surveys), I started investigating what it actually meant and finally found my place.

Discovering being aro/ace actually made me more more positive about sex and romance, even though I’d still never have sex myself. It allowed me to explore this side in much further depth, and to also find the parts that I am more comfortable with