When I came out my dad and stepmom were super accepting, but my dad didn’t quite understand what being bigender is. But I was scared to tell my mom for months, and then I did and she said she just wants me to be happy and she bought me a pride flag! The majority of my friends are LGBTQ+ so I just casually told them and they were all accepting. I haven’t told my parents I’m asexual yet, because I think they’ll say I’m too young to know or that I haven’t even slept with anyone yet so how would I know. (Bigender [she/they]/11/Lesbian/asexual)
Story #2248
When I came out it was first to two of my close friends, one of which is non-binary. They both mainly took the news well, and didn’t tell anyone like I asked them but I think one of them feels a bit uncomfortable speaking about sexuality. After that I came out to a girl in my class that I knew would be supportive, over text (like an hour ago). She was really lovely about it and told me that she’d support me. I haven’t told anyone else yet, including my parents and my best friend, because I’m not sure how my parents will react. (F/Gay)
Story #2247
When I came out as asexual I was 12, and all my friends were bi/gay/lesbian so I knew it would be fine. So I went up to my best friend (who’s gay) and said, “I’m asexual.” She acted really shocked and said being asexual was a medical illness and you had to be “diagnosed” at a hospital. Then a year or so later I came out as non-binary and my friends still didn’t believe me. However, I met a new group consisting of enbys, aces and gays and now we’re all besties! (NB/14/Asexual/demiromantic/biromantic)
Story #2246
When I came out, I was seriously considering my gender identity for the first time, and decided I’d ask a cousin for advice. She said to “Go for it!” and then I went and wrote an entire page about my experiences questioning my gender and sent it to my discord (ThatOneAwkwardSnake#1093) and was met with tons of support from all my best friends, irl and out. Still haven’t come out to anyone else and the cousin I came out to first still thinks of me as “lesbian” which makes me uncomfy as it has a feminine connotation, and even though I’ve told her I prefer gay, she still uses lesbian. I don’t know if she understands non-binary. (Non-binary/11/Gay/trans FtNB)
Story #2245
When I came out, everyone was super supportive. I am so lucky to be in a community of friends (in boarding school) where almost everyone is also LGBTQ+. When I came out to my friends here, they all were so happy and now we are forming a coalition to help my roommate begin questioning her sexuality, as we both come from pretty rural conservative towns and hadn’t really thought about it before. I still haven’t come out to my family at home yet, and am pretty nervous but am glad I have my friends here and at home (who I came out to over a Zoom call; they were very supportive and happy as well) to support me. I am planning to tell my brother first, as I know he will be accepting and knows more about LGBTQ+ than my parents, who are more of the accepting of their gay coworkers but very awkward around anything gay type, and I don’t really know how they will react. (F/14/Pansexual)
Story #2244
When I came out, I studied in an all boys, Catholic private school. I was closeted and scared at the time. I wanted it to get off my chest so I told my best friend that I was bi. Then he said, “So am I.” I was so shocked and happy I wasn’t alone. (M/13/Bisexual)
Story #2243
When I came out I could barely hear the words over the sound of my heart pounding. I have always loved my queerness but after the words left my lips I hoped the world would end before anyone responded. I was so nauseous I was worried I was going to puke. My parents said they had no idea but of course they were happy to know and loved me. My friends said “Ohhhhh, that makes sense.” I’ve never received a truly homophobic response to coming out, but I can still feel all the oxygen leave the room when I think of the first time. But I survived. I made it. (F/23/Queer/bisexual)
Story #2242
When I came out as bisexual my friends were very accepting and didn’t make a big deal out of it. Then I discovered I was lesbian and came out to my parents on Lesbian Visibility Day with rainbow cake. My mom thought I was joking at first and my dad reminded me that my sexual orientation could change. Overall though, they were generally accepting and told me they’d love me no matter what.
Story #2241
When I came out to my older brother, he thought I was joking at first: he said I was too picky when it came to guys, and asked me what my type was, and I said, “Women.” He hugged me after and told me he accepted me and would keep my secret… and then started joking about it in front of my mom and making references to lesbian sex whenever he talked about me. I told him that I’d just been confused a couple months later. Sometimes, it’s just not the right time, and that’s ok. (Nonbinary/21/Gay/genderqueer/transgender)
Story #2240
When I came out, I was about to do standardized testing and my school let us use our phones while we waited. I had half an hour before I was going to take the test, and my friend said she was happy that our other friends were having lots of luck in relationships. To her knowledge, I had never liked someone, but I decided to tell her I liked someone and I was gay. She was happy, and I told a few other people. However, I’m fairly sure I failed that test badly because I could not focus for the life of me.