Ah, coming out.
Alexa, play “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross.
Kidding. This isn’t an Amazon sponsorship (it could be if Amazon so chooses).
The dawn of age for every young gay (or “older gay,” depending on when you came out) where they officially tell their family and friends they’re gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
People come out for various reasons. Either they want to start dating someone of the same gender and be able to tell other people, or they don’t want people to keep making assumptions about their sexuality.
For some people, this can be an easy task. You build up the courage, go out to the living room, sit down with your parents, shed a few tears. Best case scenario is they embrace you and tell you they still love you.
For others (and myself), not so much. Depending on your situation, there can be religious issues, or your parents can simply just have grown up a more traditional way and don’t view homosexuality as something that is “right.” Regardless, if you’re someone like me who hasn’t come out to their parents, and don’t know if you’ll ever be able to, it can be frightening to imagine the outcome if you did.
In terms of my friends, of course they know I’m gay. If you haven’t seen my Instagram, it literally screams gay; so coming out to my friends isn’t an issue. However, I didn’t officially “come out” to my friends until grade nine. Even then, I didn’t fully express my sexuality until after graduating high school. Today, I’m extremely thankful for the support I receive whenever I do something that breaks typical gender stereotypes, like wearing heels (I look AMAZING in heels btw, not to toot my own horn.)
The point of the fact is, coming out isn’t something all of us can do. Sure, it’s a rewarding thing to do, but I don’t view it as the end of the world if I don’t. My mom turned 60-years-old this year and grew up in the mountains of Croatia, so she’s extremely traditional. If I can’t change her mind, I can’t.
So, if someone you know hasn’t come out, or you’re just meeting someone and eventually find out they haven’t, don’t instantly ask them a million questions on why they haven’t. Simply put, it’s none of your business.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week. 🙂
THE GAY BIBLE 