Coming Out

Social aspects of my life would teach me that being homosexual or bisexual was wrong, but others (while living in Palm Springs, Ca.) taught me that it was completely normal to have such sexual orientations. I have lived in California my whole life which has always had heavy, heated debates about allowing same sex marriages, allowing homosexuals in the military, and fighting for homosexual equality, so the history behind my state has made me grow up to be comfortable around gays even with the disturbing things I had been subjected to while I was growing up in Palm Springs. This class has now taught me many things I did not know about when it comes to the psychological aspects of being homosexual or bisexual, but I am still a heterosexual, and comfortable with it.

I was crippled and trapped between choosing what my society had taught me, what was considered to be right, and what I thought was better for me. Prior to summer academy and my immigration to the United States, I had a problem finding my true self in matters like accepting homosexuality. My thoughts and my judgments were corrupt in a sense that my reaction towards such people was solemnly based on what I had been taught. I was born and raised in an environment where homosexuality was considered to be an abomination and unlawful. After immigrating to the United States, I had little to no encounters with people who considered themselves as gay or lesbian etc. Unfortunately for me, upon attending the summer program, I was paired with a person who considered himself to be gay. Initially, every thought I had was filled with ignorance and closed mindedness. But then as time progressed and my grade depended on his effort, I decided to put all the negativity and what I knew aside and tried to learn something from this friend. By the end of the program, I found out that this person was just like me: funny, amiable, sociable and essentially the difference that existed between him and me, was our sexual

Growing up gay during adolescence, a time when a sense of self is being developed, realization of who you truly are, is often not possible for young gay men. Being different, not seeing yourself in characters on television or in books, or knowing a gay couple living in a long-term relationship deepens your doubts of being accepted by your family or friends for who you are on the inside. Hiding feelings of attraction toward other males while trying to cope with male hormones is a challenge. Frequently the choice made is trying to fit in, run with the other boys, pretend you are interested in the opposite sex, and measure up to society’s hyper-masculine ideal. Feeling awkward in a life that feels foreign to

Published by the Huffington Post, 20 year old Austin Fisher voices his process of coming out in his article entitled “The 3 Sides to my Coming Out Story”. I choose to analyze and reflect on this text for I believe it displays various situations and perceptions in response to one coming out. The author starts by explaining how he came to terms with himself. When Fisher was younger he idolized his brother’s bravery for announcing his homosexuality to the world. This planted a seed in Fisher’s mind that would not seem to stop growing. Though deep down he knew he was gay, he was not ready to admit it to himself or the outside world. Instead, Fisher suppressed his “gay side” and reinvented himself. He got a girlfriend and views “coming out” as overrated, for Fisher views it as unfair and unjust that because of his inherently “wrong” sexualtity he has to go through an emotional process of explaining who he is attracted to the people he loves.

Upon arrival, I was immediately surrounded by many diverse and intelligent individuals. Everyone was accepting toward people of different backgrounds, but I, on the other hand, was not so accepting toward myself and had a difficult time with becoming comfortable with my sexuality. Because I was not comfortable with myself, I found it difficult to be comfortable around people who were the same way as me. Fellow students and staff

I identify as a straight female. Although in the past I’ve only had white partners, I am attracted to a spectrum of men. Throughout my life I have always told myself that I was only interested in men. As I approached college more and more I became slightly more interested in women. I have felt like being attracted to men is what’s considered to be socially correct and so I fit into the cookie cutter. These ideas and thoughts are something I’ve only shared with two people.

According to societal labeling I would be considered a heterosexual female. Society loves to label people based on their sexual orientation, labels such as heterosexual, gay lesbian, bisexual, transgendered are used to identify people. However I do not support the idea of people being labeled as one thing and in a sense their label becomes their whole identity. I personally believe that a person’s identity is based on more than their sexual orientation. Societal ladling does not work because when someone is born society seems to believe they are heterosexual until the individual states otherwise. Every individual is unique in their own way so I can only imagine that the experience of “coming out” is different for everyone. Some experience can

Growing up everyone is told that they are unique. “Be yourself,” “use your God-given talent,” and other expressions such as these impress the aforementioned narrative into our minds. Thus, when I was around thirteen years old, I thought my sexuality was just a part of me that only I had. I wanted to share this feature about myself; I wanted to take pride in it and show it off. Coming out to a close few friends showed positive and emotional responses. Riding on this high, I was ready to embrace myself in high school. Yet, my naivety took the best of me as I was going to an all male, religious high school. My sexuality has provided me with experiences that have and will continue to shape my life. These struggles, whether they are internal or external, have provided me with invaluable skills.

The current study examined factors that influence sexual identity uncertainty as well as its potential consequences for relationship decision making in a sample of non-monosexual individuals (individuals attracted to more than one gender; N 397). Additionally, among non-monosexual individuals who reported that others frequently made assumptions about their sexual orientation, higher sexual identity uncertainty was associated with more partner gender management. For non-monosexual individuals who reported low sexual identity disclosure, more frequent experiences of monosexism were associated with greater internalized monosexism, which in turn, was associated with greater sexual identity uncertainty. In summary, findings are consistent with a

Purpose: The purpose of the film is to show how gay individuals have to deal with coming out to their family and friends. It is difficult to come out, because some people are not as understanding and accepting of someone being gay. They worry about what others might think about them.

Some says that a person who has intimate relationships with both men and women doesn’t consider herself bisexual or of any sexual orientation for that matter. I think that today, we are seeing more people displaying an attraction to another individual based mostly on what their personality has to offer, rather then their ‘plumbing’. I find this an interesting concept and I think I do believe that what it boils down to is the love you have for the person despite their anatomy, though I have yet to experience feelings like this myself.One of the main problems that bisexual people face is the idea that bisexuality is not a “real” sexual orientation. This belief is held by not only the heterosexual community but by the homosexual community as well. Many people think of bisexuality as a transition into becoming gay or as a denial of oneself being gay. This belief is damaging not only because it refuses to acknowledge that bisexuality exists, but it also restricts a person’s love and affection to only one gender (either same-sex or opposite) and it refuses to take into consideration that someone could be attracted to or love people of

I am bisexual.  Are you paying attention now?  Bisexuality holds an interesting position when it comes to sexual minorities.  On one hand, it's seen as the ultimate liberation: "They'll do it with anyone...how hot!".  But when it comes to seeking mainstream social acceptance, we can be seen as the worst in sexual perversion: "They'll do it with anyone...how shameful!".  There are many theories and opinions on bisexuals, some I agree with, others do not fit my definition of being bisexual.  The important thing is that bisexuality is real, it's not a "transition period" to being gay, a homosexual in denial, or a person who just can't make up their mind.  Being bisexual is a huge part of my identity, something that no one can take away from

On Monday October 9th, the meeting finally came. We both rode together, and I was definitely anxious about this meeting. I understood that there were going to be more people like me, who were going with their LGBTQ loved ones. Thinking about that, made feel me a little bit more at ease. It surprised me how all these people showed up to support their loved ones. As the meeting started, the host named Shane brought his dad and brother on stage with him. He told the attendees that they were here to learn more about him and the LGBTQ community. They admitted that they were startled when he first came out to them, and it took them awhile to fully process it. Now they know that he will always be the same person and will support him continuously. Shane came back on stage afterwards and talked about how coming to a meeting like this, helped them better their relationship as a family unit. After he spoke, a number of LGBTQ adults started talking about how family members and friend’s actions’ mean the most to them and even a slightly negative tone regarding them coming out, really did hurt them. One of things they mentioned was how important it was to speak out about how you feel, and are willing to understand your loved ones. They wanted their family members to know that are the same person they were before coming out and not to treat them different just because their sexual orientation. There were a few family members who weren’t of support of their loved ones being LGBTQ, but

Why is it so difficult to come out as a Homosexual male? There are several reasons some might hide their sexuality for a longer time than anticipated. It has also been proven that coming out as a homosexual can improve quality of life such as making the individual feel confident and happier within themselves. With the favorable effects also come the adverse effects of coming out. Some of these reasons may include, but for sure not limited to, dealing with stereotypes from the community, being disowned by loved ones and encountering homophobic individuals. Today I will tell my experience of coming out as a homosexual male to my friends and family. I will also share with you their reactions, comments and the ridiculous stereotypes that lingered and potentially could’ve destroyed my relationship with the people I love.

Throughout today’s society, there are multiple views and opinions on whether or not there are more than two genders or if gender is even just a social construct. Each person has their own individual preference on how they express their gender. Therefore, we can no longer assume what someone identifies as just by looking at them. Over the years I have learned more about gender expression and gender identity as I gained friends who were homosexual as well as transgender. I feel as if I was introduced to all of these ways of life at a young age, therefore I can, in some ways, teach those who are uneducated and do not know what to think. I have personally never really thought about the different gender identities I could label myself as but as of right now I identify as a cisgender female