Your first encounter with a gay/lesbian person?

Myself haha just kidding.

Actually in middle school my friend came out to me as bisexual. Even though I'm a Christian (and was at the time) I didn't really care. I said that's cool doesn't change a thing.
Except that it did. But not because I didn't like that she was bisexual, because I was starting to like her D:

 

I felt really awkward around gay people, because obviously I knew they would possibly tell I was gay too. I used to distance myself away from them (not negatively, but in fear). This was mainly at school though, I almost felt that if anyone saw me with a gay person, they'd think I was too.

My uncle is openly gay and I've known that since I was a child and me and him were really close. He lived with my grandmother and his partner and I always stayed there, he's a really good guy - this obviously made me a really open-minded view on gay individuals. Before coming out to my friends, I always used to use my uncle as an example to argue any stereotypes and homophobia. When it was confirmed to me that my uncle was gay (I'd already worked it out for myself) I was just like...okay, so? It really didn't change our family relationship at all.

 

I've known a few openly gay people growing up but the first gay person who I came out to was an old supervisor that I used to work with. I came out to her a few weeks after our store closed and it's nice because she has helped me with some of my feelings as a lesbian and helps with advice since she can understand all the feelings I've been having.

The first time we got together we talked mainly about gay things and just life experiences knowing I was different from others. But now we just talk about random things when we get together, it's just like having a normal friend but you have that thing in common.

So I would say it's not any different from having straight friends but it's much easier to talk about LGBT things because they would have a better understanding.

 

Well, the first person I came out to was actually a friend of mine who happened to be gay himself. I told him in the middle of a chat, and he asked if we could just hop over to a nearby bar and talk about it in person.

Oddly enough... we didn't really talk about being gay. He opened with "so, how long have you known?" I replied with "since we were 12 or so...". Then he replied "funny, that's for longer than I knew myself..."
And then he asked me how my day was, I asked him how he was doing, we discussed video games and movies. On the surface, it seemed like just two people talking smalltalk.

And yet, it was also a very special conversation. He knew I was gay, and I knew he knew, and yet it didn't change a thing. Knowing I could bring it up whenever I wanted to was already very relaxing.


After that, it came up occasionally, but never really in deep conversation. Usually it was comparing notes "oh, so we both crushed on the Blue Ranger. Interesting!".
Personally, that's just how I like it. He's still the same friend I always had, just with an extra thing where we're alike.

 

Well to be honest I really don't remember my first time meeting gay/lesbian person, as I always just thought of them people. Sorry I do recall the details.

 

One of my cousins. He's 40-something and has been together with his partner for longer than I have lived, so I grew up with him and his boyfriend (now husband) around. Two men together has always been something completely normal to me, maybe that's why I never had a problem accepting myself.

 

The first gay person I met was my uncle, but as a kid, no one ever told me he was gay. I found out in high school when I met his partner.

The first people I meet whom I actually knew were gay was a lesbian couple at my Taekwondo school (I was 11). They are fantastic people, and I became really good friends with them (and their son). I feel like they have become my second family. I've not come out to them, but I'm pretty positive they know. They often leave hints and give me words of encouragement without explicitly mentioning my sexuality.

 

In High School there was a gay guy who actted so much like the stereotype, it made me question if I was gay since I act nothing like that

 

I honestly was pretty uncomfortable. They acted very effeminate and it made me feel really awkward being around them.

 

The only time I have ever knowingly spoken to an LGBT person was when they brought in two gay men at a Christian camp I went to this summer. The men (one 19, one 40something) told us about their struggle and how same-sex relationships were wrong so they had chosen celibacy.

I'm hoping that next time will be slightly more fun.

 

I honestly can't recall my first encounter with someone who was gay. I remember finding out my cousin was gay (and later trans) when I was in middle school and having a gay teacher but it never phased me. Unlike some responses where people didn't want to associate with others who were gay in fear of them finding out, I never cared if people thought I was (almost no one actually knows though).

 

This is how I felt, too. It was eighth grade for me. Everybody started talking about how this kid was gay or bi. No one really knew. I barely knew what it meant. It wasn't long after that when I knew there was something different with me. I found it hard to believe since I fit no stereotype.

 

My first encounter was that I walked into the GSA meeting at my high school. I had no idea what it was until they asked my sexual orientation..lol

 

I never knew what being gay was until I was 13. I knew that I liked girls, but I didn't know they had a word for it. The first gay/bisexual person I met was my friend/sister. She was my sister's boyfriend's sister and we were the same age. I've known her since I was 8, which is really funny now that I think about it. Anyway, one night she shocked me because she asked me if I wanted to fool around. I said no and was actually scared, I have no idea why. I eventually found out that she's bisexual, although we joke around and ask her if she's gay. She's my friend first, so I hope no one finds this to be creepy lol.

 

My lesbian cousin and my gay cousin and his husband, both on a trip to see the family in Mississippi as a kid. Of course, no one talked about it until I was older.
I've actually never talked to a gay person in person for more than a simple greeting, something I find shocking.

 

Well I knew a few people from school were obviously gay but weren't actually "out". The first openly gay person I met was a guy I worked with in my part time job when I was 16. And I really disliked him. He was very flamboyant and was really crude, talking loudly to everyone about his sexual activity from the night before. Maybe it made me feel insecure because I knew I was gay but didn't have the guts to tell anyone. But he was just not a very nice guy either. He was constantly bitching about people and was a bit of a bully. I've met nicer gay guys since then though

 

My first 'encounter' with an out gay guy would've been in 9th grade. A friend of mine had just recently come out to everyone, and I was pretty indifferent about it. Given I knew him before I knew he was gay, I don't think it's really fair to describe it as an encounter. The next actual encounter with a gay person I wasn't familiar with was on the set of a production of Fiddler on the Roof. I barely talked to the guy. He seemed perfectly nice though. He played Motel.

 

I remember the first gay book i read hahaha it was about a boy who was in 5th grade who knew he was gay at the time i was in 8th. i remember feeling excited that he had a crush on this boy, i always got that way about gay's bi and lesbians and then i met this girl who was out and i remember always wanting to talk to her about it and how she knew and how she felt she made me happy then she asked me if i was a lesbian and i told her no and stop talking to her. but i will never forget that feeling of how it felt to know some one who was openly out its exciting hahahah for me any ways!