Student discovers herself at OU

For a student who didn’t know what being gay meant before high school, Brianna Versteeg has come a long way.  As a member of the LGBTQ Advisory Board, Versteeg helps other students overcome their own fears of being gay in Oklahoma. 

Since coming to the University of Oklahoma to study psychology and pre-physical therapy, she has embarked on an ongoing journey to find out who she is.

“Before I went to high school I didn’t know there was such a thing as gay,” Versteeg, said.  “I didn’t know it was different because I was home schooled, and I never knew there was such a thing as being different like that.”

After “coming out” during her junior year of high school, Versteeg said she has overcome many of her reservations of sharing her sexual orientation with new people.

Versteeg said that even her mother has had difficulty understanding the change.

“She accepts it because it’s me, but I know that she’s not all that comfortable with it,” Versteeg said.”

With her role on the LGBTQ Advisory Board, Versteeg is a leader for other students.  Letters junior Tyler Tennant has been involved with the LGBTQ community and said he tries to follow Versteeg’s example.

“Brianna is always completely open and fearless,” Tennant said.  “It’s impossible to feel embarrassed or shameful around her because there’s not an ounce of shame in her.  She’s totally OK with who she is.” 

However, Versteeg admitted that the continual process of coming out could be daunting.

“It’s coming out over and over again because it’s not just a one time process,” Versteeg said.  “It’s literally like every time I meet a person I have to wait for them to find out that I’m gay or something like that.”

The road has not always been clear, as Versteeg said she has had to discover the full spectrum of the LGBTQ community.

“My journey has kind of gone from being like ‘Am I bisexual?’ to like, ‘What am I?’” Versteeg said.  “I consider myself pansexual because it just means loving people no matter what their gender is.  I still don’t think I have it pinned down to one spot.”

Currently, Versteeg is dating a woman, and said that her feminine appearance often confuses people about her sexual orientation.  In her pencil skirt and emerald green blouse, Versteeg certainly did not seem to fit the stereotypical image of a lesbian.

“I think it’s hard for people to understand because they want to see one flat dimension,” Versteeg said.  “Either you’re gay or you’re straight.  That’s how it is to them.  They don’t get the in between stuff.” 

Still, Versteeg and Tennant both agreed that the general attitude towards LGBTQ students at OU could be much worse.

“I haven’t really heard any bad stories about people being harassed or anything,” Tennant said.  “The community here is really supportive, and the people who don’t like us just mostly keep their mouths shut which is fine with me.”

Versteeg said she has had a similar experience.

“Sometimes I get hateful looks kind of like people will look at me like, oh, you’re gay, but I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone outright say anything,” Versteeg said.

OU is among the Oklahoma schools that have created policies to support LGBT members of the university community, according to a 2012 Higher Education Fairness Report by the TEN Institute.

“While 73 percent of Oklahoma colleges and universities have no policies in place to support and protect LGBT faculty, staff, and students, there has been a 9% gain in the number of LGBT-inclusive institutions since 2010,” according to the report. 

In addition to the LGBTQ group resources, OU also hosts a student life group called GLBTF.  Versteeg explained the difference between the two groups.

“LGBTQ is kind of the more serious side of GLBTF because GLBTF is more like bringing people together for fun and doing social events whereas we’re more into what we can do for advocacy and awareness of issues,” Versteeg said. 

Both groups are gearing up for this Thursday, which is National Coming Out Day.  Versteeg said she hopes people will take this day as an opportunity to educate themselves about the LGBTQ community.

“I just think that if I had known more about what being gay was when I was younger, then maybe I would have everything figured out by now,” Versteeg said.  “I’m trying to prevent that from happening to someone else.”  

Versteeg participates in the annual LGBTQ Candlelight Vigil, which works to raise awareness and honor the hardships of the LGBTQ community.