When I came out, I was basically forced to come out because of something I did which was very stupid. My older sister and I had a talk, then she asked me the question “Was it a dude or a girl?” and it took me a couple of minutes to say it was a dude. Then she asked me if I liked both genders, then I said no, only dudes. Then she asked when did I find out and told her around elementary school. So then fast-forward a little, she asked if I want to come out to my mom and mind you this all happened on Halloween after my birthday (Oct 30th). At first I said no, then I changed my mind. Then she asked me if I wanted to tell only my mom or all of my family (siblings) and I told her all of them, so I told my mom that I liked dudes. I started crying and she was just quiet, then she said that she doesn’t believe anyone is born gay. She is super religious (Christian), and the first thing she asked me was I “touched by anyone”. (M/18/Gay)
Story #2765
When I came out to my parents they reacted horribly. They are muslim, religious, and severely hostile against transgender people. They lectured me for 40 minutes why I would be “outed” and “shamed from society. I’m also bullied at school. I had to delete my tiktok account because of them! (MTF/trans girl/Straight/heterosexual)
Story #2764
When I came out, I was really worried about my parents’ reactions at first, thinking, “I know they support the lgbtq community, but it might be different because I’m their daughter.” I was really surprised when my mom’s reaction was basically to say she already knew, and to ask if I had a crush on someone. Actually, until I was twelve, I was pretty much the only member of my family who hadn’t guessed. To all other teens/kids who want to come out, it’s scary, but it’s worth it, and who knows? Maybe your family will react better than expected. (F/14/Lesbian)
Story #2763
When I came out, my mom and I were driving and she said, “Now, you’ve been kinda accusing us of things….like us not agreeing with the community. Is it because you feel empathetic toward them or are concerned you are part of that?”
My answer:
“I AM NOT CONCERNED. I DON’T LIKE GIRLS, I LIKE BOYS.”
(M (sometimes feel neither gender or both)/15/Gay/queer)
Story #2762
When I came out (the first time) I told my mum I had a crush on a girl. She was like cool. Really supportive. But then I think she thought I was a lesbian so I strung up the courage to tell her I was pansexual. This time I told both my parents I was just like, ‘Have you heard of pansexual? That’s what I think I am’ and they were super nice again. After that I realised that I was gender questioning and wanted to use she they pronouns. I told them and they were a bit confused and asked what that meant so I started to cry. But then they both hugged me and said it was okay and that they loved me. Very happy with the result; both very supportive. (Questioning/Pan)
Story #2761
When I came out I thought it would be the hardest conversation that I ever had to have, but it wasn’t. We were in the kitchen doing dishes after dinner. I told my step mom and then my dad a few minutes later, and they weren’t excited but they also weren’t mad. My father said he just wanted me to have an easy life, without making it harder for myself (“it’s a hard row to hoe.”) I said it’d only be harder if I had to hide who I was and he nodded that he understood. We didn’t talk about it much after that until I got my first girlfriend — and then it was just “keep your bedroom door open.” Turns out, coming out in everyday life — at the grocery store when someone asks about my husband, at the doctor when the assume because I’m sexually active there is a penis involved — those are the hard conversations! (F/45/Lesbian)
Story #2760
When I came out, I was 11. I went to a day camp and tried using she/they pronouns. It felt AWESOME, and everyone was just… chill. Literally no one was like “Whuttttt? Does that? MEAN?” Then I started telling a few school friends. Haven’t come out to family yet. (Genderfluid/Pan)
Story #2759
When I came out to my best friend as bi (2 years ago), I don’t think she understood. It was brief, something like this:
Me- Hey, I think I’m bi.
Her- Ok cool. I think I am too.
I re-came out to her this summer, on our friendiversary. I wrote this long letter about our friendship and randomly in the middle of the letter I was like ” I don’t know if you understood this when I told you last, but I’m…. meaning bisexual.” Then I was like that means I like girls and boys (I have a massive crush on her but I think she’s like super straight so…). She was super cool about it and she still loves me. It feels so good to be myself and be able to say stuff like “There’s my gay side”. My parents caught me reading a sapphic romance novel and they were also super supportive, being in a family that actively supports LGBTQ+ people. It was super awkward and I still haven’t fully come out to them yet but hopefully soon. I guess this shows what love is. (F/13/Bi/queer)
Story #2758
When I came out I did it at the beginning of school. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and I had been planning on doing it over the summer, but had never gotten around to it. I wrote a note basically saying that I went by a different name at school, and that at school I used All pronouns. That afternoon when I got home from school, she was really chill. She just said, “Hey, do you want to go by that name at home too?” and I said yes and then she just started using it at home and pretty soon the rest of my family caught on. They still only use she/her pronouns though. 🙁 (Non-binary/gender queer/gender fluid/13/Questioning)
Story #2757
When I came out, my friends’ reactions ranged from “really?” to “no you’re not.” It was actually kind of enjoyable, and minorly addicting, to come out, because I got to see their reactions and have a weight lifted off of my chest! (M/13/Gay)