Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & Acceptance

She calls herself "a fierce Mama bear" when it comes to safeguarding the rights and safety of her two boys. So says Lori Duron, author of Raising My Rainbow, a book that chronicles her family's adventures raising a gender creative child named C.J., a boy who, from the age of just two and a half, displayed clues that he wasn't like other kids. While Duron's older son, Chase, grew up as a sports-pla...

Rabbi Elias Lieberman has been Rabbi of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation on Cape Cod since 1990. In that time, he's been a steadfast champion of LGBTQ rights, signing on early to support same-sex marriage when it first became law in Massachusetts, and later, becoming an outspoken advocate of transgender rights as well. His congregation also served as the host location for meetings of PFLAG Cape Co...

You might call Joanne Hush a social pioneer. It's probably not a label she would ascribe to herself. But, Joanne is the mother of a gay son and a lesbian daughter, both of whom came out to her (and her husband Paul) decades ago –- in the 1980s and early 90s -- when having openly gay or lesbian children was far more controversial and uncommon than it is today. Joanne learned her son was gay in the...

36-year-old Alex Smith knew, from an early age, that he was different. But, as a child, he didn't have the vocabulary to describe his feelings, or the psychological maturity to understand the emotions that stirred in him. Born female, it would be years before he realized he was, in fact, transgender. In this revealing interview with interviewer and PFLAG - Cape Cod member Rick Koonce, Alex describ...

Susan Smith is the mother of a 36-year-old transgender son who she raised with her husband, Roger, on a rural Pennsylvania farm. Back in the 1980s and 90s, sexuality wasn't a topic that even most progressive, open-minded parents eagerly discussed with their kids. But from an early age, Susan realized that something was going on with her daughter. The event became a turning point in Susan's dawning...

February 1, 2025 Given the current political environment in the United States and the newly announced anti-trans policies of the U.S. Administration, the individual previously profiled in this interview requested that their story be deleted from the PFLAG Cape Cod website because of personal safety concerns. © 2020 - 2025 PFLAG Cape Cod

Robyn Keating is a 26-year-old transgender woman. Born into a male body, she knew, from an early age, that she didn't identify with boys, but did identify with being a girl. While her mother (Dina) was always supportive of her being whoever she felt herself to be, Robyn was afraid of her father. Consequently, she remained in the closet for years, until, one autumn day, in 2017, at the age of 23, s...

When you have a child who comes out as transgender, it can be an emotional rollercoaster to deal with. You can also feel like nobody in the world understands what you're dealing with. So says Dina G. of Cape Cod. In 2017, Dina's 23-year-old son shared with her that he was, in fact, a woman. Since that time, both Dina and her daughter, Robyn have been on a journey of exploration, discovery, and acc...

Imagine being in your mid-sixties, married (for the second time) and discovering you're transgender! The life of Paula Degree is a compelling story of courage, self-exploration, long sought answers, and fearless personal honesty. Married twice and the parent of three children, Paula says the day she realized, in her therapist's office, that she was transgender was a life epiphany, and a moment tha...

Courage is a quality we usually associate with age, wisdom, and years of lived experience. But what if you're just 18 years old, full of vibrant enthusiasm and energy, and a young gay man who's already found his voice when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights? You'd be describing Joey Morisset, a young gay man from Cape Cod who is already a profile in LGBTQ+ courage, and the First Place Winner of The 2020 An...