Damien Nguyen is 22, out, loud and proud – in every sense. Nguyen, who uses he/they pronouns, sits on the Mardi Gras board and helps run the activist group Pride in Protest. They say the process of coming out is gradual – but for them, it’s been three to four years. Like many young queer Australians, Nguyen is living an open life. Landmark data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Thursday revealed almost one in 10 young people aged 16 to 24 are LGBTQ+.