How much did you struggle with your sexual orientation or gender?

A fair amount. Somewhat depressed & in denial. Basically frozen emotionally for about 8 months or so between figuring out I was gay & finally accepting it.

 

I was in denial for a period of maybe 3 months when I thought I was bi. That time was absolutely terrible. I thought I would never have a "normal" life and if I tried hard enough I could be straight.
Then a few months after that I was thrown into questioning again because I was actually lesbian, after all that time I still wouldn't accept I didn't like boys. It was rough, but I'm glad it got me to where I am now.

 

Some.
Not in denial but more of a "i have better things to do than to figure out this weird mess" kind of thing.

 

My gender struggle's stop me from doing the things that I enjoy

I have these struggles every day with my gender even at work or

with family I get miss treated it for being trans and I also forget

that I'm human you wanna know what hurt's the most from my gender

struggle's? waking up feeling the same way as if something is not right

and as if everything is nothing but a lie

that is my gender struggle's it's kind a funny how some way I'm always

able to smile

 

I struggled a lot with it in middle school. I was bullied, feared rejection from parents, and struggled with my own religious beliefs because of it. I was a Christian who was taught that homosexuality was a choice that would be against God. It got to a point where I was considering suicide (thankfully, I didn't end up doing it). I can say I went through all the stages of grief. Denying that I'm gay, angry at God and homophobes, 'bargaining' with God so that he can help (I even considered putting myself in reparative therapy when I was older), depression (probably the longest one), and then acceptance. It took years for me to finally come to terms with who I really am.

 

None at all.
All I struggled with was the possibility of being bullied.
Not because I believed there was something wrong with me or my orientation, but just because bullying isn't a fun experience.
Never been religious so that never played a part either.

 

A LOT for both.

Sexuality - Outside of this site, I have absolutely no support. My family consists of a bunch of homophobic pieces of sh*t, occasionally some co-workers will spout some stuff as well, the local lgbt community is essentially useless if you don't fit a certain mold.

The few years I've had since I made my discovery have been just a roller coaster and, like almost everything else in my life, I've been stuck to solely rely on my own self because nobody else gives a f*ck about my feelings. Still a closeted, self hating mess usually.


Gender - This one has gone a lot smoother since it involves more to do with yourself than others.

It still can really suck at times though when you're dealing with a degree of body dysphoria and feel unable to do anything about it. It's going from a 'whatever' mood and not acknowledging certain stuff to wanting an axe and just hacking away.

It also sucks to be called the wrong gender/pronouns at the least, as a general thing; makes me feel ill and weird as hell.

 

Sexuality was a cinch. Didn't care about a label, it's just about what I like.

Gender, I am struggling with so much right now. It's about who I am and I have no idea what I am yet.

 

I knew I was at least somewhat interested in guys since I was like 13 or 14 but only ever admitted it to one person until I was 26. If I knew how ok with it my family and friends (and, increasingly, society too) would be, I would have fought it a whole lot less.

 

A FAIR amount.

I always knew I was into girls and all kinds of attractions were there. I accepted myself as bisexual, but I started dating guys when I was 14 and I didn't feel the need to tell my parents about my sexuality. When I was 16, the ugliest part was understanding I wasn't that attracted to guys, nasty break-ups haven't helped at all... I had trouble accepting it, but I don't think I was in deep denial.

 

I've questioned my sexuality on and off for years, it's been confusing but not horrible. Gender has been much more of a struggle.

 

I struggled with it a lot. I was never interested in men and suspected I was asexual for a while. I pretty much used the "asexual" label as a cop out so I'd never have to think about the possibility of being attracted to women (No offense to aces; I know that asexuality is a real thing. This is just how the label felt for me personally).

Shorty before I turned 16, I discovered that I am actually a lesbian, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Family members would always joke about me being gay due to me having no interest in men, and I would have sooner gone to hell than prove them right.

Coming out of the closet hasn't helped much, if at all. Half the time, I'm pushed back in. Plus, I'm still not comfortable with people seeing me as a lesbian, and I know I'm not dating material, so I often fail to see the point in coming out or even calling myself a lesbian.

 

I am still struggling and I think I will be struggling in the future ..:icon_sad:..

 

A little at first but not anymore.

Happy days

 

Gender has been a struggle and a half. The nice thing about sexuality, is that you get a clear indicator of your feelings. Just load up some porn and find your answers. Gender is a very complex concept however, and figuring out how it applies to yourself is... difficult. What does it feel like to be female? What does it feel like to be male? It's all just so far beyond femininity and masculinity, and the type of material you relate to. Wtf is gender.

I still haven't figured it out, but I'd like to think I'm not struggling with it. I'm just letting it be whatever it is.

 

Not at first initially. In my first year of high school(1984), the day came when I was going to say and right on cue, the was on that day and a story of a protest rally by the LGBT communities was covered and one of my brothers became angry and started saying about how disgusting they were and that all of them should be killed. I never said anything.

Go forward two years later and I was beaten up for it. Even as I lay on the ground, those boots never stopped coming for me. From that moment on, I would hide who I was for fear for further acts of violence for Jesus. The one thing I saw throughout my young life was a lot of violence carried out in worship of Jesus. There was no way I was going to offer myself up for more violence.

It worries me to see so much of this violent religious mindset returning.

 

I'm still struggling with it. Ever since I started questioning, I've been constantly worrying about if I'm really bisexual or if I'm just going through a phase. I know it would make my life a lot more difficult if I really am bisexual. There's always the struggle of finding a partner, dealing with bi-phobia, and eventually having to come out to my friends and family.
But I'm slowing coming to terms with my bisexuality. I just need to try to stop stressing out about it and just take my time.

 

I struggled pretty extensively with my sexual orientation before I accepted the fact that I was bisexual, there was alot of second guessing, self-doubt, inner struggle over me battling against the thoughts I was having by trying to deny them and say I couldn't be like that, trying to kid myself that I was completely and utterly straight when I knew conciously that I was also attracted to men.

Thankfully, I eventually came to accept it; through I have struggles about my gender still.

 

Not that much I would say. There are times though where I questioned it and think maybe it is a phase and I may or may not like boys.