Q+A
Tommy Hartman
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?
Great question! I am on a career shift plan. Af-
ter ten years in banking and financial services, I
stretched out of the cubicle and behind a stylist
chair. I attend the Aveda Institute Portland full
time. In about ten months I will be a licensed
cosmetologist.
HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY?
Gay. I used to have homosexual tendencies,
engaged in gay-activities but I didn’t want to
give anyone the idea that I was a queer. Then I
attended a Pride service at Metropolitan Com-
munity Church Portland in June of 2009. Pas-
tor Nathan Meckley asked the congregation of
LGBTQ peoples to close our eyes and think on
the first moments we recalled being proud. I was
like “BAM!” I feel it. I am gay. Gay! Gay! Gay!
Not only am I proud to be me. I am proud of the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans people, and queers
around me who are so loving and supportive.
WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING
PART OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY?
Being queer is awesome. What jumps out to me
is when I meet someone, and we acknowledge
we are both in the LGBT, there is a magic mo-
ment I would call, “I get you in a way that your
parents or co-workers do not.” We share some
of the pressures and some awkwardness of our
youth. We can be excited about the developing
world around us making it more and more of an
empowered environment for someone who is
LGBT.
WHAT WAS THE BEST PART ABOUT COM-
ING OUT FOR YOU?
I no longer hold anything back and the more
open I am the more I believe I am empowered by
supportive individuals around me.
Photo by Horace Long
WHAT WAS THE WORST PART ABOUT
COMING OUT FOR YOU?
The hardest part was telling my parents and some
of my friends that my life would not follow the
path that they dreamed for me. It was frightening
because I did leave behind me an entire identity
and perceived future. §
January 2013
JustOut.com
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