I will admit it, I'm a lurker. I've been creeping around here for months and have never posted one thing. Which is strange, because I always have a lot to say (as I'm sure this post will tell). But, you know, I guess this is a nice place to start.
I've been reading all of your stories, and it has given me inspiration to share my own coming out.
First, let me start off by saying that I'm 19. I have had two boyfriends in my life, and no girlfriends. I haven't even kissed a girl. But it's not that hard to know.
I first realized I was attracted to girls when I was 11. I wasn't obtuse, I knew what that meant. And so I knew what society's view on the matter was. For a long time, I thought myself to be this terrible atrocity because I listened to what the social order was saying. And they said the feelings I was having were wrong. So I thought, 'I must be wrong.' I decided it was something I could get through on my own. I refused to admit to myself, and I buried it deep down. Nobody needed to know these impure thoughts I was having, not my siblings, my parents, not my friends. I'll just pretend that I'm not
that way, and everything will be fine. So I remarked about the guys at school and I 'swooned' over Leonardo DiCaprio when I saw Titanic. I 'hoped' a guy would ask me to the school dance, I 'wished' a guy would ask me to be his girlfriend. And when those things happened, I was oh-so-excited! I played my part, and I played it well. I congratulated myself on my trickery, I prided myself in the fact that I fooled everybody. Nobody suspected a thing.
And then I turned 16.
"Are you a lesbian?" Watching TV with my youngest oldest brother, that was not a question I was expecting. Why would he even ask that? What indication had I ever given for him to suspect it? "Pshh. No! Geez, Jon... I like boys." And we left it at that. At least, I did. For the next year, at random moments, in restaurants or school, the same question came up from him again and again. "Are you a lesbian?" And my answer always the same, "No."
Finally came the last time he asked for no reason. A couple days after my 17th birthday, "Are you a lesbian?" And before I could mumble my patented 'No', I heard the voice of my mother float out from the dining room. "So what if she is?"
THAT would have been my cue. That would have been my cue to pull out my picketed sign that so cleary stated 'I'm gay!' and jump up and down pointing while simultaneously shouting, 'Ma! Ma! Look over here, look at the sign!' But all that came out was, "I'm not gay." My mother was basically saying she didn't care if I was... and I still couldn't tell them the truth... because I still hadn't told myself the truth.
I'm gay. That was the phrase I started repeating in my head over and over again until I was comfortable with hearing the thought. I got a pencil and some paper, and I wrote it down. I finally managed to say it out loud. And it got easier every single time. And then I looked in the mirror. I stood there for a good ten minutes before I looked myself in the eye and muttered those two words. And the world did not end. I didn't feel any different. I didn't look any different. And I finally realized it was because I wasn't any different. I was still the same old me.
Now came the hard part of coming out to others. And who better to come out to than my best friend, the one person who first noticed? My brother and I were in our bedroom one night. He was lying on his bed and I was on a mattress on the floor and we were talking, and the subject touched upon that of secrets. And I decided then was as good a time as any. So I turned and looked at him and said, "I have a secret." He looked at me, confused, and then smiled. "Are you a lesbian?" And I smiled back, but instead of saying 'no', I said 'yes.' And I felt SO relieved. All of my worries about him not understanding were dashed as he said, "Good for you. I'm glad you told me. And I'll be okay with it just as long as you don't go after my girlfriend."
It got easier after that and I came out to two other people, two people who were really good friends. And they were okay with it. (And they never suspected a thing).
And that leads to where I am now. I still have three friends to talk to, not sure what their reactions will be. I still have two brothers and two sisters to tell. And I have yet to come out to my parents. While I'm pretty certain they won't have a problem with it, especially my mother, it's still a little daunting to even think about. I mean, until it actually happens, you can't be too sure of how a person will react. But I have admitted it to a few others, and most importantly, I have admitted it to myself, and that's really all that matters at the moment.
And hey! I've kinda just told a whole bunch of strangers on the internet! That means something too, right?
