Coming out
Will People Accept Me?
Some people will accept you and some won’t. Prejudice and discrimination are everywhere in North America, and around the world. There’s prejudice against African Americans, against Latino/as, against Arabs, against Asians, against women, against poor people, against older people and youth, against any group you can name. It takes time to overcome prejudice and [...]
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Who Should I Come Out To?
To start only those people who you want to know. Coming out isn’t something that you do once and then it’s over. You might come out now to your family and later to friends, or the other way around. You could come out only to one parent, or to a brother or sister, and later [...]
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Should I Come Out?
Only if you want to, and only when you’re ready. Don’t come out just because someone else thinks you should. Hiding the fact that you’re GLBT is called “being in the closet.” Being open about it is called “coming out.” You can come out to one person, to friends and family only, or to everyone [...]
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Tips for Professionals Working with GLBTQ Youth
Don't be surprised when a youth “comes out” to you. They have tested you with a series of “trial balloons” over a period of time. Based on your previous responses they've decided you can be trusted and helpful. Respect confidentiality. If a gay, lesbian,bisexual, transgender or questioning (GLBTQ) youth shares with you information about his [...]
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Allah, Lesbos, and Me
MY MOTHER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND IT and she’s liberal Muslim. A lot of my friends don’t understand it and they’re progressive lesbians. But I understand it and, dammit I’m gonna explain it to the world. Being a Muslim lesbian, that is. If you don’t hear much about us it’s because in North America invisibility isn’t exactly [...]
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Talking to Teens About Sexual Orientation
The teen years can be tough for parents as teenagers come closer to understanding who they are and who they are not. One of the most important issues teens come to terms with involves their sexuality. Parents can do a lot to make this issue a more comfortable one. Puberty is not an easy time [...]
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How People May Respond When You Come Out
Remember, when you come out the person you are telling may not always react as well as you expected. But then, it may have taken you years to accept yourself, so be patient and helpful. You cannot expect someone to immediately accept this new information about you. P-FLAG has identified a model of behavior that [...]
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The Stages of Coming Out
COMING OUT: The process, often life-long, in which a person acknowledges, accepts, and appreciates his/her sexual orientation as being gay or bi-sexual. This may eventually involve sharing of this information with other persons. One model (there are other models, too) of the coming out process is as follows: (adapted from Richard Troiden) SENSITIZATION: The person, [...]
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Homo-syllabus: Attending School for Gay & Lesbian
Youths today have a hard enough time adjusting to school and schoolwork as it is. To make matters worse, by junior high and high school, they have to contend with confusing physiological changes, the adolescent horrors of spontaneous erections and unpredictable periods as well as the burning issue of their emerging sexuality. For gay and [...]
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Équipe AlterHéros
Julie-Maude Beauchesne
François Paquette
Dee Gamme
Samuel A.
Marion Téjédor
Article published on May 17, 2002 in PFLAG.org by PFLAG
Sorted in Dating, Dossiers, Coming out
To the first question probably not. And to the second everywhere. Many teens say they have more straight friends now that they’re “out,” and that they’re a lot happier and more confident since coming out. It’s easier to be close to people when you’re not hiding anything andmwhen you’re comfortable with yourself. Some [...]
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