The first thing I think that I should say is that I am a straight female. I hope that anyone reading this is not offended that I am a user on this site, as I am very supportive of the LGBT community. I need some advice... Today, a completely out of the closet senior at my school approached me. We were talking as we usually do. Out of nowhere he said, "Hey I didn't know your brother was bi." I was shocked, I didn't even think he knew I had a brother. After a few moments of silence, I shook it off and said, "... I didn't either." He replied, "Oh I figured you knew, I thought I'd tell you. I was talking to him for a while." The conversation went on a minute or so longer. But you get the idea. Now, I always considered my brother and I to be quite close. I admit, the thought had crossed my mind before, but it was never a big deal to me because he never brought it up so I was never sure he was. But we generally tell each other everything, especially considering the age gap (He is 24 and I'm still in high school.) He has never mentioned it to me. I generally go to my parents for advice, but seeing as they don't know, that's not an option. So I've decided this is where I would get the best advice, assuming most of the people on this forum are in similar situations. So... should I talk to my brother and let him know that he can talk to me and I support him regardless? Or should I just wait it out for him to come to me? Or should I do something else entirely? I just don't want to give him the wrong impression and I want him to feel comfortable talking to me. I want him to know he has someone to talk to if he needs it. Thank for reading this and I appreciate any advice that you can give me! Thanks again!
Yes, it's best not to let his secret out until he wants to. A lot of members here, including myself, came out to friends first before family. I think it's because you choose your friends; you don't choose [biological] family. I think you should tell your brother in private. It's not your fault you found out, and if you show support, that may help him get more comfortable. Or you can try to be super obvious in your support for LGBT people, but maybe he will be still nervous and had a different timeline. What you could also do is just try to quietly steer your parents and other family to support him. Try going to the coming out advice and other subforums like for family/friends and reading their stories. There's a lot of good info on how to avoid mistakes or hurting feelings.
