In your opinion how long is a phase?

I think that a phase is an immeasureable amount of time and it only ends when you feel confident in what you are:Either bisexual or lesbian.

 

personally I think "Just a phase" is a phrase parent's use to deal with something they don't like, but If you think that you ARE just in a phase, then why worry, just go along with it. You see none of us know what we're gonna be into tomorrow. You could find the boy of your dreams next week, or you could decide that boys were just a "phase", and that boobies are where it's really at.

My advice is to just be comfy with you. There is a reason the Kinsey scale has like 7 levels to it. Not everyone fits perfectly into three.

For me personally, I dig guys a fair bit more than girls, but if the right girl were to come along, I would definitely be interested.

Sometimes we're "just sexual" and not specifically Bisexual, Homosexual, or Heterosexual. I say screw the titles and find someone to love, regardless of gender. This opens us up to look deeper than the skin. Beyond the gorgeous eyes and cute expressions.

Explore The personalities and if you find that you like one gender more than the other enough to exclude that gender completely, then just let it happen. No one is pressuring you to be any one thing (If they are, then they need to back off).

This is YOUR Life, YOUR body, YOUR Heart, and YOUR Soul. Explore it with patience and an open mind and don't be afraid of finding something you don't like.

Go forth and Explore!....... Responsibly...... and join a support group

 

I think it depends on the context and what is being called a "phase". Puberty can be a "phase" that lasts many years, varying in length and intensity from person to person. I was obsessed ninjas for two months in seventh grade. I wanted to be an actor for four years, and still have moments of desire. All are "phases", but they all have different lengths of occurrence.

 

Depends. Some kids have a candy-craving phase for a week or two. I had a really obnoxious phase for over two years. If you're having any sort of attraction to the same sex, I'm nearly certain it isn't a phase.

 

I think a phase can be very open ended, at either or both the start or the end. Maybe it's something that you can only see in retrospect- Oh, there's where I stopped lying to myself, etc. Anyways, labels are for soup cans. I say, just go with the flow and don't bother with trying to define your sexuality.

 

Personally, I don't think it's a problem to label yourself "early." I've changed the way I label myself probably about six or seven times since I first came out (as bi, which I no longer identify as) about three years ago. Go with what you feel, and if it changes, it changes. Sexuality is too fluid to be locked into one thing.

 

It's tough to say. My gut feeling is that if it's over six months, it's probably not a phase anymore. There's nothing wrong with saying "I'm still trying to work it out, but I think I'm on the gay side of bisexual" until you're sure.

Lex

 

Well, I only got rid of the "it's just a phase" argument after my phase hit 11 years... so I'd give it 11 years, and after that feel free to call yourself gay/bi

OK, seriously - I don't know. I would just wait and see, and I think that a lot of it is down to you, and when you want to call it a day and say "actually, this doesn't seem to be a phase".

One useful thing too is to imagine that a friend was describing your situation to you, as in, imagine they are telling you that they've been attracted to people of the same sex for such-and-such a time. What would you think if someone else was in your position?

I would also just like to add something about myself: I have found that I have "phases" when I like women, and "phases" when I like men. Sometimes these phases are extended - like several years - and sometimes they are shorter. I have taken to mean that I'm bisexual, who goes through phases of being either one or the other (depending upon who I have a crush on). Therefore, if I took only the last year of my experience, I'd be gay, but if I took the last 5 years, I'd be bi. If, two years ago, I'd looked at the last 5 years, I'd've been straight. But looking at my whole life since age 11 (my first crush), I'm bisexual. But that is just me and how I've decided to interpret my own experience.

I think that it's entirely up to you, and a lot of it depends upon whether you want to include your whole life (ie from puberty onwards) and every single attraction or crush you've ever had - which is what I do - to decide whether you're bi/straight/gay, or whether you want to only include, say, the last so many years or your crushes as an older person (if, say, you want to dismiss earlier feelings as being a phase).

I'm not sure whether or not I'm coming across clearly but I've found that it's basically all about how you interpret your experiences. I, for instance, have been sexually attracted to men in the past - several years ago - but can't see myself falling for one at the moment. I am therefore overall bisexual, but at the moment lesbian. This is how I've interpreted my experiences and feelings, but I could equally say that I am a lesbian, because at the moment I don't feel attracted to men at all and can't see myself being so in the foreseeable future.

So there isn't really a time-frame - it's more about how you choose to interpret your feelings, and when it is you're willing to say "enough is enough - this isn't a phase".

 

My phase is 12 years and counting ........

 

My phase is forty years and counting. I am beginning to think I might not grow out of it.

 

I don't think you can really give a length to a phase - how long is a piece of string? Anyway, you don't need to worry about giving yourself a label (that's something I've learnt over time) but just feel relaxed about your sexuality, whatever it is, and like whoever you like. Only you can really know whether or not you are gay or bi or somewhere in between, but give yourself time to figure it out. If you're thinking of coming out, now is as good a time as any, but it may be easier for other people to understand if you say 'i'm gay or bi' rather than 'i'm not sure' because then they'll be able to say 'oh, you'll grow out of it, it's just a phase'.

I'm not sure whether or not this helps at all, but i hope it will help you sort out things in your mind.

 

LOL.... I might have to use that one sometime.

 

A phase for different people is different, for some it may be a month, for others a few years. BUt in my mind, a phase is the amount of time it takes for you to get to know yourself and what you truely believe. It's scary, but take your time. WE all have confusing moments in life. It's part of bveing a member of the human race.

 

If you are asking if your feelings of being Bisexual are a phase and looking for a period of time when you can comfortable say "ok this is real" then you are looking in the wrong place. You'll know when you know i guess.

 

Like people have been saying, a phase could last any amount of time, short or long. If you're not comfortable labeling yourself as "lesbian" or "bi" you can always just hold off. If you're still working it all out, you don't have to label yourself right away. You really don't have to label yourself ever, but unfortunately everything tries to pressure us into labels. That's why labels kind of suck.