Brittany Nolans, age 19

Savannah, GA

I've been gay-bashed before. It happened about a year ago. It just made me open my eyes up to realize that you can't trust anybody that you barely know, because I didn't barely know this kid. He came to my door and just beat me up, you know. I was in the hospital for two days. He had one of those big brass knuckle things and he hit me in the head a couple of times with those and beat me down to the ground. It actually makes me scared to go home to Indiana, because he had told a lot of my friends that if he ever sees me again he is going to kill me this time.

I was raised Pentecostal, growing up in a family we went to church. To this day, I don't go to church every Sunday, but I still go to church. I mean, I pray before I eat lunch, dinner, I pray every night before I go to bed. People have told me that gays go to hell and everything, but I'd like to see in the Bible-- they say it's in the Bible. Until that day, I will believe everyone is treated equally – gay, straight, whatever – and we all go to Heaven.

My dad was a deacon in the church. The pastor was my uncle. My dad just found out I was gay three years ago and he disowned me. I don't think the church would support me, knowing that I was gay. I don't think they would allow me to go in.

I can remember when I played with my mom's dresses when I was a little kid. I think I was like seven or eight. Somewhere right in there. That's why, when I came out two or three years ago, she knew all my life... she had time to accept it.

I've been doing drag for about thirteen months now. I had my first pageant last year around Valentine's Day and I won Miss Valentine Savannah 2001. It brings out the flamboyant side of me as a boy. When I'm a boy, I'm gay, yeah, I act gay, but when I'm dressed in drag I can let it all out because I'm a woman, you know?

I would probably have wished not to be gay. It's not a problem being gay or anything but you just have so many people that are homophobic and stuff, and it's really hard on the gay community to get along with straight heterosexual people. But these days people are starting to be cool with gay people. I mean, it was bad growing up.

But I'm very, very kind to people. I'm very openhearted to people. I give people advice. I'm very respectful of people. I'm just a nice kid--a nice guy. In fact, I think I'm just an all American boy.