What it’s like returning home years after coming out

When Kay Langford said goodbye to Nambour, the regional Queensland town she left at 22, she was not out — to herself or her family.

It wasn’t until she moved away and saw more queer identities that she figured out her own sexuality.

“I probably started to identify as a lesbian when I started to see more examples of people [who were] representing what I was feeling or experiencing in my body,” she said.

“I probably spent too many years suppressing that.

“Visibility and community and allies — whether you’re queer or not — is so important to help people to come out, but also to make them feel safe.”

That is why Ms Langford returned to her hometown recently — to create some of that representation and to host a party for the local LGBTQI…