When you find out?
Not everyone is happy being gay, lesbian or bisexual. It can be very confusing. Perhaps you feel like you are the only one. Or people around you are saying weird or hurtful things about gay, lesbian and bisexual people. It can be good to know you’re not the only one. Find people you can talk to about it, and who know how you feel.
How do you react?
- People around you assume you’re straight. To them, being straight is the norm. It’s true there are more straight people than gay, lesbian, or bi people. That doesn’t mean straight is normal and that you are abnormal.
- There are gay, lesbian and bi people all over the world.
- Being gay, lesbian or bi doesn’t make you one of nature’s mistakes. Even animals show homosexual behavior in the wild.
- Religious people may reject homosexuality, but that doesn’t apply to everyone who is religious. Attitudes towards gay, lesbian, and bi people often differ within a single religion.
- Gay, lesbian, and bi people are just as diverse as straight people. They may tend to be more feminine, or more masculine, in the same way straight people do. If you’re not a classic example of a woman or girl − or of a man or boy − that’s perfectly fine. Everyone’s different. The most important thing is to be yourself.
What can you do?
- Read personal experience stories by young people who are already openly gay, lesbian or bi. It’s good to read about how other people deal with it.
- Talk to people you trust and who you feel comfortable with.
- Talk about it online if that makes you comfortable.
