Demographics
First Name: Allicen
Age: 17
Gender/Pronouns: Female
Sexuality: Bisexual
Region/Area: Casey County
Race/Ethnicity: White
Story
I came out to my mom the summer after eighth grade while I was away at a summer camp. I had finally met people that I connected with and that made me feel comfortable with who I am. She took it really well and said she’d never look at me differently and that my sexuality didn’t change her love for me. A year or two later she even got a tattoo that incorporated a rainbow and said that I was part of the reason she chose it. I’ll always be thankful for the support she gave me and continues to give me. I came out to my dad (my parents are divorced) on my 15th birthday. It was by far the worst birthday I’ve ever had. He’s a die-hard Christian with pretty old school beliefs, and at the time was a devout Catholic (now just protestant but that doesn’t matter). You can imagine how he took it. I was yelled out, had the bible read to me- specifically the part that says I’m going to hell- and he spent the whole night crying. He just kept saying that he tried so hard to raise kids well as a single dad and didn’t know how I couldn’t have ended up normal. He asked how I could already know I liked p*ssy and if I just spent my time sinfully lusting after women. The whole time he said that he was having the reaction that he was because he loved me, that he was just upset that I would burn for eternity and that his parenting had landed him a child like this. I knew he wouldn’t be happy, but honestly I thought he’d be somewhat understanding considering I’m his child. It was heartbreaking. And although I knew that it was ok to be bisexual, for a long time and sometimes even now I feel ashamed of it, like I’m committing a sin that’s actually going to land me in hell. It hurt so much that I spent a long time just praying that I could be “normal” and that my dad and I could move on with life like we did before. He’s now more accepting of it; he still changes the topic when it’s brought up and voices how he hopes I won’t end up with a woman, but he keeps it more to himself. We’ve in a way come to a mutual agreement to just pretend like that part of me doesn’t exist. While it isn’t ideal, it’s better than a rocky relationship with him.