What pushed you or is pushing you out of the closet?

There were a number of little things, but I can think of a few specifics.

Something that made it unpleasant to stay in? I felt like I was an impostor. Like every time someone would say something to me about a boyfriend, or a hot actor, or "Oh, I watched that show for <Actress> too, though probably for different reasons" (No, you didn't, guy, I thought she was hot too), and I went along with it? I felt that achy, uncomfortable guilty feeling I get when I lie. It got exceedingly unpleasant. I also remember one particular dream where I had a boyfriend, who was fairly similar to a guy I dated VERY briefly, and all I could think was, "This isn't right. I want a girlfriend."

Something that made it desirable to come out? Daydreams featuring me and a girlfriend, doing everything from the simple stuff (going to the store, playing games together, holding hands, picking out a puppy, etc...) to... well, probably exactly what you are thinking. =P

But one of the biggest specific moments I remember, back when I was still trying to figure myself out and was deathly afraid of saying something, I was driving and someone asked me point-blank if I was straight. My heart rate shot up, I got dizzy, and suddenly 60 MPH seemed very, very slow indeed. I said, "... Yeah" and tried to keep myself on the road. (And then she told a dumb lesbian joke. "You know, they came up with a cure for lesbianism." "Oh?" "It's a drug called Trimenagain!" Yargh.)

I spent the rest of the day thinking, "I lied. I lied? Holy shit, that was a lie. Holy shit!" (To top it all off, she and I were on our way to a restaurant at the time, and the waiter seemed to think we were on a date, and I couldn't stop thinking how nice that would be.)

So, yeah. Much happier out now. =D

 

I was tired of lying to myself. I was always lonly...like people don't know the real me.
Plus I'm not one to back down from a fight, and people have issue with my gayness....then lets dance asshole...let's dance.

 

this is going to sound stupid

The clincher for me was a drunken conversation with a female bisexual friend of mine. I knew i'd always been able to find men attractive, but never really got as randy over guys as much as i did over girls. The conversation got sexual though, and she was talking about screwing me with a strapon while i went down on her boyfriend, which was a totally hot prospect. It was about that point i realised i'm definitely more open to phalluses than i thought i was.

 

Tired of hiding / lying.

 

I took 4 years to work out I was bisexual, and by then it just felt right to tell a few close friends. I'm now out to everyone who cares, but it took 4 years and a lot of close relationships to get there. I am bisexual, but I feel more strongly attracted to guys, so I guess I'm bi-straight?

 

bi-straight also, high five sista!

 

Looking back, i really dont know WHAT pushed me out. I was scared to death and convinced everyone was going to abandon me. I mean, all these fears even had substantial weight behind them too so i was right to be afraid...

But somehow i just kind of powered through my coming out in a month or so and that was that

 

Like a lot of others, just being sick of hiding.

 

I was feeling very fuck-the-world at the time. I've forgotten what made me feel that way. It kinda got dwarfed in the excitement, I suppose.

 

I had a similar experience back in 8th grade. A friend of mine asked me if I was gay, and I said something along the lines of "No, of course not!". We were on a band trip to Adventureland, and the whole rest of the day it was the only thing I could think about. I was so distracted I even overcame my fear of heights for awhile and went on some rides I would never consider going near now. So yeah, that day really got me thinking.

What pushed me out of the closet for the first time was when my mom got angry with me for being on the Internet too much, and that she felt I was keeping secrets from her/not telling her the truth about something. So I decided that the only thing to do was to tell the truth. Fortunately, things went well.

 

Just got tired of avoiding the subject. I share everything with my friends, so I felt it only fair to share this, too.

Lex

 

When I figured out myself...I just didn't see the point of hiding from the people I knew wouldn't care. Granted, I've still got a foot in the closet (my parents/extended family are a lot more...uptight than my friends/brother/cousins), but the longer I go, the worse I feel about it.

At this point, I'm just tired of having to be quiet about certain things when they come up in conversation. And feel rather bad for not telling my parents the truth.

 

I felt pressured to do so. Makes me sad to think about it, but i don't regret it.

 

Personally, maturity. I have grown fearless, being in the most homophobic country in the world and all, u know.

I just don't care anymore. If I die, I die. But I die with pride and my head held high.

 

Truthfully, I had accepted the idea of being gay before I finally figured out I was gay, so the final thing that pushed me out of the closet was figuring out that I was gay. I was very confused growing up, so I had a lot of time to accept who I was before I actually figured it out. My life is strange that way.

 

I came out pretty quickly and easily to my friends, but it required me realizing that I was only two months shy of my 25th birthday to finally tell my parents. I just thought to myself "my god, you're going to be a quarter-century old... 1/4 of 100 years... and you can't just be honest with them and move on?" and... it worked. :lol:

 

Myself? Haha idk. I was always in the middle, I was never really out but never really in either.

 

I hit puberty pretty early I guess (boobs at eight, period at ten) but really didn't think about being gay until I was 12. I had switched schools and not told anyone about having two moms, and kids being stupid made it into a big deal and spread rumors about it all year. I freaked out and hated school there, and one night late in the year I had a dream that since my moms were gay I was too. That was the first time it crossed my mind, but I never gave it much more thought until one of my friends admitted (after some friendly, innocent sexual... erm... energy being released at a sleepover) that she thought that she might be bi. Turns out I enjoyed the 'fun' way more than anyone else. And I tell my friends everything, and after having rumors spread about me for a year I was done caring. So I came out. I do wish I hadn't come out as bi first though, it makes everything more complicated and I hate addin to the 'bi doesn't exist' sterotype.

Oh man... Long post. I need to lay off the caffeine.