Bridget (they/she) has been an active member of Rainbow Families since 2017, and they loved it so much they also started volunteering in the same year. In 2018 they decided to offer their unique voice and perspective to the community by joining the Board. As someone who likes to know how things happens, Bridget has really valued the chance to be a part of the decision making process and find out just how Rainbow Families works from the inside.
A self-confessed thrill seeker, Bridget says they are quiet, calm, and collected. That said, Bridget admits that once you get to know them, they are real chatterbox. If you aren’t lucky enough to know Bridget, we are here to share a bit more about them as they conclude their exciting time on the Rainbow Families Board.
Sydneysider Bridget and their partner Hayley have two human children, Lily and Gemma, and a pampered feline child named Winnie. While Bridget has always been queer, they never really felt a sense of belonging until their partner came out as transgender to them. At that point the family decided to seek out more families like theirs. Although as Bridget points out, also families not like theirs; “hello diversity! How boring if we only connected with families exactly like ours?” However, having been living in New Zealand for a break from city life, the family decided the best way to find this community would be with a triumphant return to Sydney. Supporting Hayley’s transition in familiar surrounds felt good for them so they turned to Sydney in 2016 for the next step in building a community. Enter Rainbow Families.
Describing Rainbow Families as “joyful, persistent, and vibrant”, Bridget says the greatest thing about it is finding a community that allows you to be your authentic self. “It's so hard to find spaces and communities like that. Often we have to wear a mask. But within Rainbow Families we can let go of our masks and be free.” Describing their own family as “unconventional, interesting, and humorous,” Bridget hopes that other families looking for their village will feel welcomed into the community that they have helped oversee during the last four years. To those families they say “We see you, you are accepted here and you are loved.”
Over the past four years Bridget has seen the Rainbow Families Board evolve significantly and has loved playing a part in that. During this time Bridget celebrated what they consider the organisation’s greatest achievement in the development of the Trans and Gender Diverse Parents Resource Guide.
Bridget’s family was a part of this incredible project and they believe it’s significance is due to the importance of uplifting and listening to the stories of trans and gender diverse parents and their families.
As Bridget farewells the Board, their wish for the future of Rainbow Families is a resource or collection of stories from neurodiverse families. “These are stories that need to be heard and a pocket of the LGBTQ+ community that needs to be uplifted.” Bridget would like to wish the new Board well and has this advice for its members; “just be yourself. I think it is very important that people on the Board are authentically present as their true selves.”
Rainbow Families thanks Bridget for their valued contribution to the Board and their ongoing presence in the community. Thank you Bridget