too young to know you're really gay !!!

[Antidoll]

so now that I'm 20 , I look at some teenagers who are 14-15 or even 13 sometimes and they already know they're gay etc...


for me it seems shocking, even though at that age I still knew I was gay... but now when I look back, I can't help but think, wow they're too young to know if they're really gay or just confused...

and trust me, I'm the most open minded person you'll meet, and I knew I was gay for a long time, never thought I was " straight " ...


I don't understand why do I feel like this... is it just me???

[Malchik89]

I think it's just the change in times, with each year that passes, people are starting to understand that homosexuality really isn't such a bad thing, and at younger ages, people are like you said aware that they are gay, but are less afraid to be open about it.

[Beth]

i must admit that even tho i knew i was gay round about that age i am stil a tad sceptical about ppl that come out at that sort of age...

[Martin]

You're entitled to think what you like. Just as long as you don't try and get them to think along the same lines then I can't see a problem with thinking that. It's hard enough for them anyway without their peers thinking they may just be confused. If somebody says they are gay then I'll believe them. They know themselves better than anybody so I don't consider myself or anybody else as being in a better position to judge them.

[Beth]

u do get some kids that are blatantly doing it cuz they think its cool & different
tho i'm not saying every1 is,cuz of course some ppl are gay & choose to come out at that age

[Martin]

If they're doing it to be cool and different then isn't it more a case of them pretending to be gay rather than actually being confused?

If they're only pretending then being skeptical of everybody does not really achieve anything, and just puts more pressure on actual LGBT peeps when coming out.

[Beth]

i'm just saying i had experiences at school of ppl shouting about that theyre gay when they actually werent & had no same sex tendencies what so ever & they just thought it'd get them attention & thought it made them all mature

[Malchik89]

well that doesnt seem to have any real relevance with being young and coming out, that just seems to be all about their own insecurities and lack of self esteem and they have desperate feelings to be apart of something.

[Antidoll]

lol I'm not talking about coming out, but rather being sure of being gay instead of just being confused... lol

You are entitled to what you think. I'm entitled to disagree.
Although i see where you are coming from.

[420inc]

I knew I was different at a very early age. Probably 8 years old. I didn't know what it all meant until later, about 12 years old, when I learned more about sex. But even at eight years old I knew the feelings I had wern't the feelings most others have. So I think it's entirely possible for teenagers to know at that young age.

[rosiejuly3]

Its different for different people, I personally know I have feelings for other girls and right now wondering if I may be more then bi. At my middle school we have a huge population of LGBT kids *or at least call themselves that* and I would have to say only a couple of them are sure they are. Times are changing and its beoming more accepted, which is making kids not question their feelings for anyone and just go for it.

[ccdd]

I don't know what, if any, age is too young to be sure, but I will say this: if someone tells me they're gay, then I'll believe them. They know best. A large part of this is that I believe that in the majority of cases, coming out to other people is one of the last stages people go through, not the first. I believe that more people will falsely believe they're straight (through fear or hope) than falsely believe they're gay.

And if it turns out that they were premature, and have to "un-come out"? There is nothing wrong with changing your orientation after you've come out. You don't have to stick with what you labelled yourself with at 12, 25, or 60.

I know that in my case what I suspected at 12 turned out to be true - so I see no reason why it should not be true for others. If I had been in a more LGBT-friendly environment, and had come out at 12, then I would have been right.

I knew I was gay since I was 13...ish. However, I thought I was too young to be gay. I thought being gay was ok if you were like 16 or more.

[silentsound]

I definitely see where you're coming from here, but I don't agree. I am always a little shocked to find out that some people knew when they were eight or ten, but it is not my place to judge, more power to them really. That being said, I am also a little surprised to hear people who are just realizing it when they are 25+, because it just seems to me like if you weren't actively in denial during that time than you missed a whole chunk of your hormonal development without thinking twice about it. I guess you have to chalk it up to the fact that everyone is different and you shouldn't judge anyone else based on their time frame. Sometimes I think that I would rather not know I'm gay at this point in my life, then I think about how nice it is to have the hardest stages of questioning behind me and I know I won't have to go through that when I'm 18 or 25.

[Malchik89]

yeah i knew i was gay was i was about 12 or 13, i was just never admitted it to anyone until i was 17 lol

[NathanHaleFan]

I disagree. I knew my sexuality at 12... I think maybe in earlier times when being gay was "bad," most gay people that young would dismiss it immediately and continue in denial into an older age when it comes crashing down.

In this new age, fewer kids are going into a denial stage, because they don't need to. Therefore, they can be sure of their sexuality at a younger age.

I think there is no too early or too late. People will know when they are ready to know.

[Danielle]

I have known my sexual preference since I was twelve but that is nothing I have known I was in the wrong body for about ten years and I am only fifteen

[Wander]

I knew who I found attractive and who I didn't as early as third grade, but I never attached a word to it until about sixth. I wouldn't be surprised to meet people as young as six or seven who find the same gender attractive, but it definitely takes time for them to understand, realize, and accept it.