Lesbian

Response 16

| Olivia

Demographics

First Name: Kali

Age: 18

Gender/Pronouns: Female (she/her)

Sexuality: Lesbian

Region/Area: Greenup County, KY

Race/Ethnicity: White

Story

Honestly coming out never really ends, but coming out to my grandmother (which is the only one I really cared about) was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I had heard about a coming out day and that a lot of people come out on thanksgiving to their entire family at once. I thought I’d do something similar, but turns out I just did it kind of suddenly when my grandmother had asked me to rub her shoulders. I guess I had been thinking about how I hated hiding it for a while, I hadn’t made any plans but after she told me she still loved me she went off to bed and I felt a lot better. I’m still constantly trying to find myself of course, but I’m still glad I did it when I did, even if she’s probably forgotten at this point.

Response 11

| Olivia

Demographics

First Name: Ashley

Age: 18

Gender/Pronouns: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

Region/Area: Dayton, OH

Race/Ethnicity: White

Story

Overall, my experience was positive, but there were definitely some that really weren’t. The ones that weren’t positive were the ones that stuck the most.

Response 9

| Olivia

Demographics

First Name: Mia

Age: 18

Gender/Pronouns: She/They

Sexuality: Gay/Lesbian

Region/Area: Kettering, OH

Race/Ethnicity: Chinese American

Story

I grew up in a Catholic household. When I first came out it was to my mother. She didn’t react super badly but she also didn’t react very well. She would talk to me like I was “deciding” this and used to tell me she’d pray for me. (At that time I knew she meant pray for it to go away). For awhile, my mother never brought up relationships or sexuality with me. However, this year was the first time my mom finally accepted what I had told her and openly told me she loved me and would love whoever I loved. It was a really nice change of pace. However, that doesn’t erase the years of emotional stress she put on me. Growing up religious has made me very quiet about who I come out to. I’ve told a couple other people including my siblings and friends. They are all super accepting and supportive. (A lot of my friends identify as lgbt+ in some type of form so it’s not a surprise they were supportive). But yeah. That’s my overall experience with coming out.