I really want to come out at school, but I am very scared of how my friends will react. I am always holding back jokes about how gay I am, and I was wondering what people think about that being a way of coming out. For example, my classmates and I were creating a poster for an assignment and they were teasing me for not being able to draw a straight line. I don't know about you but that was a perfect set up for a gay joke, but I held myself back. I would love to hear opinions on ways to come out. Or if this was the way that somebody came out, I would love to hear the reactions. Thank you so much.
Hm. I don't know your friends... Honestly though, if your friends are really true, then they shouldn't care if you're gay. I'm sure you've heard that before. Jokes can be a good way to come out for some people. Other people like to have deep one on one discussions with the friends that they come out to. It depends. I'm sure you've heard that before too. Maybe tell one person before you tell the group?
You know your friends better than anyone. For some people it can be a funny, less stressful way to come out. Others are going to want to sit down and have a longer, more meaningful conversation about it. Try to predict their reaction. If you crack a joke to come out, and think they'd just say, "Really?? Good for you!", it might be appropriate. If you think they'd be more surprised and have lots of questions, I'd wait until there is a more appropriate time. But like I said, you know them better than any of us do, so take everything I say with a grain of salt!
If you have one really close friend - a best friend, maybe - whom you are pretty sure will be accepting, you may want to come out to him/her first. If that person is accepting, then you have an ally if/when you decide to come out to the others. You may want to consider coming out to those who are closest to you (whose opinions/friendship you value the most) on an individual basis. That way, if someone isn't accepting or is less accepting, the other friends in the group won't feel pressured in any way to give you less than their most honest response. ---------- Post added 25th Aug 2016 at 11:55 PM ---------- Oh, and joking about it MAY work. As others have commented above, you know your friends, we don't, but if you tell them in a joke, they may think that you are not serious. And then you may end up hesitating, backtracking in your own mind, and agreeing with them that it was just a 'joke.' Personally, when I came out to people, I never did it in any situation which could have been regarded as a joke or less-than-serious. But that's me. You are a unique and wonderful individual and you have to decide what works best for you.
