When I came out I was 19, and even 3 years later it’s not something I openly talk about. I was drunk and out partying with some mates. One of them said, “That’s so gay” about something, and without missing a beat I just shouted, “Same!” They just laughed and said OK cool. I kept it to myself for about three weeks and then told my family over the phone. I told my mother and her response was “Oh! OK, don’t tell your father just yet, he’s had a car accident, that’s why I phoned.” (It wasn’t serious but no one knew that at the time.) Fast forward 3 years and my family accept me and joke about it, but I lived in a country where being LGBT was a prisonable offence so I never really talk about it. (M/22/Gay)
Story #1772
When I came out to one of my friends, I had already known I was bi for a while. I had crushes on multiple girls and I was pretty confident in who I liked. I thought he would be supportive of me, and I had already told a lot of my friends casually that I also liked girls. I really didn’t think much of it since I know so many bi people and am friends with multiple. We were with his friend, and I casually said I liked girls. He told me he didn’t believe me and that I was just doing it for attention from guys since I act “straight”. I wanted to cry, but instead, I yelled at him and asked him why he thought that I needed to prove my sexuality to him. I felt so hurt that he thought I would do that, and even more so that he thought I needed to prove it to him. (F/Bi)
Story #1771
When I came out, I first told my parents that I thought I was bi. It was kinda weird, and my mom told me that nothing was certain and that I’m still figuring things out. I also told my friends that I was bi but something felt off, and I decided to learn more about the LGBT+ community. Eventually, I stumbled onto the idea of quoiromanticism, and I think I know what I am now. Still experimenting, and waiting to tell people until I know for sure. (F/14/Quoiromantic but maybe not)
Story #1770
When I came out, it was by accident to my entire school. More like, someone outed me, and to this day I don’t know who did it. But even though I’ve lost some people in my life, the rest have been really supportive, and so is my family. (F/16/Homoflexible)
Story #1769
When I came out it was to my friends at school. I had been dropping hints for weeks and they were still clueless. Then during class today, my friend asked me what gender I liked and I told him that I liked boys. He was very supportive and accepting and I couldn’t have asked for better friends! (M/11/Gay)
Story #1768
When I came out to my best friend we were 14. It was 3am and we were lying in my bed during a sleepover. I looked over and said, “I think I’m gay” really quietly and just started crying. She rolled over, said, “I know, I’m going to sleep.” We still laugh about it years later, especially because she just came out to me as bi. (F/18/Lesbian)
Story #1767
When I came out I texted my best friend with a message I had prewritten almost a week before. Even though I was 99% sure she would be supporting and accepting, as she herself is gay, my heart was racing and my hands were shaking. This was the first time I shared this part of myself with anyone else and when she didn’t respond for several minutes, I started to get really nervous. Finally, she responded in such an awesome way and said she would have my back. It was like a huge weight had been lifted and I felt euphoric for the rest of the night. (F/16/Asexual)
Story #1766
When I came out in 8th grade, it was to my mom. I sent her a text message saying that I was bi; we didn’t really talk about it. Eventually, I ended up going back to the closet. This year I figured out that I am lesbian and only my brother knows it. (F/17/Lesbian)
Story #1765
When I came out to my parents, my dad told me: “In the past, I have thought about how I would feel or what I would think if you turned out to be gay, but now I know for sure it doesn’t matter at all.” This was the second time I have ever seen my dad tear up. (M/25/Gay)
Story #1764
When I came out to a few of my yearbook friends today, I felt so relieved to be honest with them. I’ve been dropping hints for a while now, but they were still clueless. So today in class we were looking at club lists for high school and I came across an LGBT+ club and showed the others. We talked about it a little and then I said, “I should join that club.” They looked at me confused for a millisecond and then I continued to say, “Because I’m bi.” My friends were so supportive and one of them even came out as pan to us. I’m so happy I told these amazing people, since yearbook class really is my safe place. (F/14/Bi)