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I'm painfully unsure whether I'm gay or bi/pan, need help

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by confuseddd, Nov 30, 2015.

  1. confuseddd

    Regular Member

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    Ok,here goes. I apologize for the length. I'm in my early twenties and I've been confused about my sexuality since I was 10 years old, when I first heard the word 'gay.' I didn't know why at first, because sexual attraction hadn't really kicked in fully. I had a girlfriend when I was eleven and have had many crushes on girls throughout my life. I have a crush on a girl even at this moment and I check her facebook page constantly. At the same time, when my sex drive kicked in around 15, I only had an urges toward pictures of men. I haven't had really ever experienced romantic attraction to guys and I find myself checking them out less in public, though I have nonetheless experienced sexual attraction to guys I meet/see every now and then.

    I am stressed by my confusion between my strong romantic attraction toward cis-gendered women, which significantly affects me emotionally, and my strong sexual attraction toward men. When I make out/basically do everything other than intercourse with women I'm mostly (maybe 60-70% of the time) aroused. Sometimes kissing/other stuff feels forced though, depending on the girl. However, the majority of the time I have had sex with women I've had a voice in my head tell me that I'm gay. I've only had sex with girls a few times, and I can only remember two times that the thought (that I'm gay) did not appear, out of maybe 8 or 9 times. I have sometime aroused myself with pictures/videos of women online, but rarely compared with men. When I do the former it sometimes, but not always, feels forced. But it's the inconsistency between my ability to be attracted/aroused by women and my more-or-less natural pull toward the male body that has made me always question my sexuality. I'm thinking that I could have a sexual experience with a woman and enjoy it/not think I was gay I may just have not had sex with that right woman, but I'm also nervous to try it again (though I still want to try) because I'm not sure what I will find out.

    However.... I have very strong attractions toward women romantically, and sometimes I know this borders/breaches sexual attraction. I really like girls' personalities. I like spending time with them, holding their hands, etc. I really want to be in a relationship with a woman and am hurt when it doesn't work out. Beside when I was 11 I've never been in any long term relationship. I currently have a woman I like right now. Still... I'm nervous whether or not I'd enjoy sex as much as I know I could with a boy. I think she's beautiful and when I see her I like her body, but I pretty much don't fantasize about her sexually when I'm alone.

    I had one experience that's possibly elucidating. I was tripping and had sex with a female friend and during sex told her I was gay; I was also aroused so she was generally confused. I regretted it after and didn't really speak to her for a few weeks, which I in turn felt bad about.

    I have been with only one guy. I wasn't that attracted to him/found him only the uglier side, but it felt much more natural. We didn't have intercourse, only oral and making out. I slept over his dorm and held him all night. But I didn't want to speak to him after that/felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.

    I'm not sure if I'm solely attracted to guys or if my very much real feelings for women mean that I am not gay but sexually fluid/pansexual (not bi: bisexuality is an exclusionary/very gendered word). I don't know if I'm in denial and just have internalized homophobia and I can't really talk to anyone right now.
     
  2. tgOlivia

    Regular Member

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    From the information you've given I would either guess that you're a Kinsey 4-5 which is kinda straddling the gay/bi line. (if you don't know the Kinsey scale just look it up, its pretty simple but just time consuming to explain).

    Or else I might say you're homosexual, but panromantic.

    Whatever, just give yourself time to figure it out and don't worry too much about labels.
     
  3. QBear

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    Its difficult to say exactly what is going on, but I'd tend to agree that you might be around a 4.5 on the Kinsey scale.

    My advice would be to try dating men for a while. It seems clear from your account of things that sex with men seems more natural to you, and that sex with women, while possible, is often problematic despite your strong romantic feelings.

    Under these circumstances, dating women is likely to leave you always feeling vaguely unsatisfied sexually and wondering what you might be missing, even if you really love the woman. On the other hand, it is common for men who are sexually attracted to men to have difficulty feeling romantic attraction to men when they are first coming out because of the general social invisibility of romance between men, gender stereotypes around men expressing love, internalized homophobia, social pressure, etc. However, many gay men report that they are able to work through these issues and eventually give themselves permission to feel romantic feelings toward men.

    So, since you've tried women more than men, give dating men a chance for a while. With practice you may find that your capacity to feel romantically about men increases (or you finally meet a guy who sends electric sparks through your body.) If so, then awesome, you've discovered your gay, and can go about confidently building the rest of your life. And, if after dating men for several years, you find you really, really don't fall in love with men, then you can confidently move forward with pursuing women romantically (but possibly in the context of having an explicitly open or monogamish pan/bi/queer relationship.)

    It will take some courage, but either way you will learn more about who you are and what you want in a relationship. And anyway, even if you are pan/bi, you'll still need to come out at some point.

    Good luck! :slight_smile:
     
    #3 QBear, Dec 1, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2015