sorority girl

Hello fellow Greek! This is a tough question. I came out to all of my fraternity brothers less than a year ago, but I waited until just after graduation so I wouldn't have to deal with the immediate effects of living in the house when it happened. That would have been...interesting to say the least.

I actually had a wonderful experience coming out though. My fraternity brothers were more accepting than I ever could have imagined. Here's how I did it:

I initially told just one person. I consider him my best friend, and I trusted him completely. I also knew he would be accepting. A little while later, I told the rest of my pledge brothers. After that, the news sort of just got around. It was actually very easy for me that way. I didn't want to have to go though the trouble of telling everyone individually anyway.

So that process worked very well for me, but your situation could be entirely different. Do you live in the house? Will the news get around if you tell someone? Would you be okay with that? That are a lot of factors that come into play here.

 

I have to say good luck in this journey! You live in Nashville.... I feel your pain. I lived in West Virginia when I came out and it was not easy at all. My college life changed. My sisters had a negative reaction to my life style but this is going back years. So I wish you the best of luck. I tried to keep my life a secret but I was also a volleyball and softball player which made it harder. My coach outed me, I thought it would be easier but I found it hard for the last two years of college. My story is long so I will not bore you. All I can say is be ready for positive and negative reactions.

 

My life is wonderful now! I have been with the woman of my dreams for 15+years. I couldn't ask for a better life. Though it was tough coming out the pain that I went though was well worth it in the long run. I am true to myself and true to the world. I don't hide who I am and whom I love.

So with that being said be true to yourself about coming out. People come and go in your life true friends will always be that true. Your sisters probably will be closed minded but they will come around if they don't then that is their loss. Express yourself loud and proud! Good luck to you!

 

I'm not in Greek life, btw, but many of my friends are. And although I went to a school in California, I have to say it was way harder coming out than I expected to the sorority friends.

I think for me, it was mostly that these girls had the misconception that every lesbian likes every girl they see...which is silly, but it's an assumption a lot of gay male friends of mine complain about as well. You know? So this may not be helpful becuase you probably already know it, but if I could do it again I would just try harder to be clear about what type of girls I like (ONLY lesbians/bi, and that I don't have crushes on any girls that are straight)....even if that's a little bit of an exaggeration, the reassurance could go a long way. But maybe it depends on the friends/sisters, too!

Let us know how it goes! (&&&) Goodluck!!!

 

This is so similar to me! I am a sophomore, but will be leaving for a full year abroad next year. I thought long and hard about who I wanted to talk to and when (right now I'm only partially out to my biological older sister) and decided to come out in April.

The reason for this is that my sorority is co-hosting an LGBT Safe Zone and awareness event. I went to it last year and they had an activity where everyone stood along a tape line and stepped up to it if a statement applied to them. Last year, I still wasn't sure enough of myself to step up to the line when they said "I am a member of the LGBT community" but this year I intend to step forward with PRIDE.

It hasn't happened yet, so I can't tell you if it is a good way to come out or not, but you know the girls who come to the event will be accepting, and as the name says, it should be a safe environment.

 

There is probably something like that at your school as well! There are several other LGBTQ members of my sorority which is probably part of what makes us so involved. Are there other LGBTQ members in your house? They might be good people to talk to. I can also find info about events at my school by typing the school name and LGBT resource center into a search bar and scrolling through the site.

I don't know what your school is like, but I would also try looking there. Like it is easier to come here, where you are anonymous, to ask questions, it might also be easier to talk to strangers within the LGBTQ community at your school first as well?