2 days ago
Coming out in Portland: Support from unexpected places
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Jenny Nguyen remembers ' everything like it was yesterday' the day she came out to her parents when she was 17.
'I remember laying down in bed just sweating and thinking about how I had what felt like I had lived only half my life up until that moment by hiding this other half of myself and how I felt like I needed to come out,' Nguyen, the founder and CEO of told KOIN 6 News.
After what felt like the longest 5 minutes of her life, she got up from the bed and went to her parents.
'I just start crying. And my dad said, 'It's OK. What's going on?' And I told them that I was gay. And my mom's reaction was pretty swift, which was something to the effect of, 'How do you know? Are you sure? Maybe it's a phase', all of the lines that we sometimes hear,' she said. 'Dad was emotional. And he goes, 'You know what? We love you. We'll help you figure it out.''
'And,' she said, 'I got up and I went back downstairs and I just crawled back into bed.'
Jenny felt she was finally able to move forward. But her parents had to face their own journeys on how to show support and acceptance for their only child.
That adjustment did not happen overnight.
'It was a little tough,' Jenny's dad, Tuong Nguyen, said. 'I kept a straight face at home, but I remember I worked B Shift, which is from 3 to 11pm. I actually drove to work and I cried at work. I had no one to share with. And I actually caught my wife crying at home, by herself, in a room. So it was a tough adjustment.'
Tuong, who worked at the City of Portland Wastewater Treatment Plant for 33 years until he retired, continued to support Jenny's love for sports. Sometimes they'd run into Chris Mack — who worked with Tuong — at sporting events.
'When there was an American Basketball League here, Tuong and Jenny were at some of the games and I had season tickets, so I was there all the time,' Mack said.
Mack eventually became Tuong's boss and the two worked together daily.
'She became kind of my confidant,' Tuong said of Chris Mack. 'We spoke a lot about Jenny and stuff. It definitely felt a lot like an outlet for me to let it out. All my other coworkers, I don't share that much with them. But her, yeah, I felt comfortable.'
Seeing Chris be a strong, no-nonsense professional he greatly respected helped Tuong see how Jenny's life 'out' would not stop her from succeeding.
'I'm so grateful,' Jenny said. 'I'm so grateful for that because it really helped my dad to be more supportive and open and kind.'
The unique bond between co-workers grew through the years and The Sports Bra is something else that brought Jenny, Tuong and Chris closer together.
'I brag about it all the time,' Chris said. 'My family lives in Michigan, so when they see anything about The Sports Bra, they call me and tell me or they send me the article. So it's kind of like a family thing now, too.'
The is to be a place that 'supports, empowers and promotes girls and women in sports and in the community.' The 4th annual Pride Block Party will take place in July at The Sports Bra.
Chris loves 'coming here because when you look at the TV screens, there's women playing ice hockey and it's like, wow, that is so cool. And the roller derby over here.'
Each coming out experience is different. But Tuong and Chris want others to know they don't have to go through it alone.
'What I would say to somebody who's questioning or find somebody to talk to, it doesn't matter who it is, but just get some support and be able to talk stuff out a little bit,' Chris said.
'It's a personal story,' Tuong said, 'but you know that there are people just like you in the same boat as you and can help you cope.'
As for Jenny Nguyen, she's found her way and is comfortable where she is.
'I used to feel like I never belonged in any spaces. I was always the odd one out,' Jenny said. 'And now it's like I'm the odd one out and I belong.'
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