Understanding, accepting, and valuing your sexual orientation/identity is the first step toward coming out. It entails both the exploration of one’s own identity and the sharing of one’s own identity with others. Coming out can be a slow and steady process or it can happen all at once. Coming out to yourself is usually the first stage, with the awareness that sentiments you’ve had for a long time make sense if you can categorize them as a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer.
Coming out can be a challenging affair. Our society places a heavy emphasis on sexual orientation and gender identity, and most people are taught that they must be heterosexual and act in accordance with society’s gender definition. There may be a sensation of being different or of not fitting into the roles expected of you by your family, friends, employment or society for gay, lesbian, bisexual people.
Coming out is scary and difficult because you are expecting criticism, stereotyping and discrimination from the people that against about being homosexual, it is really difficult to come out especially to your family or to your parents because one reason is that they will not accept you because in their mind there is only Men and Women in this world, two: being Gay is a sinful three: maybe they want or they are expecting a granddaughter/son from you. That some things why coming out is really hard. Isn’t suffocating? You are pressured to act the way the world wanted you to be but you’re not happy and all you can do is to stay in the closet because you are afraid of what society will think about you.
Let me share my experienced of coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ Community. Way back 2018 when I was in junior high school (Grade-10) when my ex-partner back then post on the confession file (on our school confession file page) and she mention me on that post and saying something about me and as expect my classmates saw the post and start asking me (my friends and classmates) who is that person. They know that I am not committed to anyone and by that time I’ll just saying “it’s nothing, don’t mind it” until my ex-partner told one of my friend that we are together, of course at first I denied it because I am afraid and not ready to tell them that I am bisexual, I’m afraid of what they will say about me or how they will act after I confess who really am I and I am glad and happy that my friends accept and love me more for who I am and they treated me the same as before, after I came out as Bi.
I can say that coming out can be difficult but it is a process of freeing yourself from worry and anything that can feel you sad, uncomfortable and etc. accepting yourself is the key to happiness and you will learn to love yourself more. To those people are still on the closet just relax and do not pressured yourself telling that you are Gay. Everything is on the process and just go with the flow.
Ciao! Love you!
REFERENCE:
"Thinking of coming out? | Counseling Center" https://www.washington.edu/counseling/thinking-of-coming-out/
PICTURE NOT MINE:
"Navigating The Coming Out Conversation — From Both Sides : Life Kit : NPR" https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867059156/navigating-the-coming-out-conversation-from-both-sides
"#ThisIsMe: TikTok partners with GLAAD to celebrate National Coming Out Day | TikTok Newsroom" https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/thisisme-tiktok-partners-with-glaad-to-celebrate-national-coming-out-day
"I’m Worried My Boyfriend Is Gay - The Atlantic" https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/11/im-worried-my-boyfriend-is-gay/601231/
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