When Kai’s father took him for a fresh haircut and to try on a suit for the first time, he felt a euphoric sense of freedom.
Noah didn’t want to see his mother’s face when he came out, so he screamed, “Mum, I’m gay!” from his bedroom — her loving response was a relief.
Both teens want the support they received at home to be extended to Australian classrooms, but educators say more training is needed to learn how.
Kai grew up in Buronga in far west New South Wales along the Murray River, about a five-hour drive from the nearest capital city of Adelaide.
He spent 10 years feeling like he didn’t fit in — then Kai realised he was trans.
It was a relief when Kai came out to their dad.
“He just wanted to see me happy,” they said.
“Dad took me to get my hair cut and took me shopping to get clothes I felt more comfortable in.”
Something clicked when Kai tried on a suit for the first time.
Without a visible queer community in Kai’s hometown, they searched for people who understood their experience.
“The first thing I came across was an LGBTQIA+ Discord group when I was scrolling on TikTok,” they said.
“We share information for people who don’t know anything about the queer community, and just support people to be who they are.”
Kai has learnt about LGBTQIA+ life through online groups and community services, but he said schools should be inclusive too.
“In health it comes up but that’s only because we talk about discrimination, and it’s only lightly gone over.
“We don’t go into depth about how it is living as a transgender youth or being gay.”
Across the river in the Victorian town of Irymple, near Mildura, Noah felt the weight of others’ expectations.
“I come from a farming family, and it was clear I didn’t fit into what some people expected of me,” he said.
“I remember feeling forced to do stereotypical male things, like riding motorbikes and working in a shed.
“The thing is, I actually like riding motorbikes. It was just tiring having to do it for someone else, like I was performing.”