Help with a school project (sexuality course)

[Cooper]

So I have a project for my human sexuality course on male homosexuality. I'm largely approaching it from the difference between how people react to female homosexuals compared to male, since I'm a lesbian.

But if I only looked at it from my perspective, it wouldn't be fair. So I wanted to ask any homosexuals out there (female is fine so I can get more perspectives on it than just mine, but I'm largely looking at male).

1: When did you figure out you were gay?
2: When did you tell your family? Have you? Your friends?
3: What have been their reactions? Any strangers react?
4: Anything else you would like to add?

You are absolutely welcome to PM this to me if you would prefer. Thank you in advance for the help!

[telecom_goddess]

Just out of curiosity are you going to touch on bisexuality or pansexuality at all?

[Cooper]

Other people will, though I might.

[ComputerNecromancer]

1: When did you figure out you were gay?
2: When did you tell your family? Have you? Your friends?
3: What have been their reactions? Any strangers react?
4: Anything else you would like to add?

I'm bi, but I figure the info is still useful.

1. I was interested in both guys and gals as long as I knew about sex. (Early teens)

2. Never told family. But friends knew from around 18 or so.

3. Friends have been ok. Strangers mostly don't know. It probably helps that my first guy crush (back in 1973) warned me that doing anything in public (even holding hands) was likely to get us beaten up or worse.

4. I started out more interested in gals. but the last decade or so I'm more interested in guys.

And frankly, I've always been more into how well we "click" than the gender.

[telecom_goddess]

ahh what the hell might as well add my piece although I'm more pansexual than anything. I don't care about gender, and in fact like my genders mixed up if at all possible.

1: When did you figure out you were gay? Hmmm I had a crush on a student teacher in the 5th grade.

2: When did you tell your family? Have you? Your friends? Not my family except for my sister. Although now it's obvious on facebook I'm in a relationship with a woman so the family I have left know. And friends definitely know.

3: What have been their reactions? Any strangers react? No reaction thus far. Strangers no ...nothing there.

4: Anything else you would like to add? ahh just that I accept any and all genders whether they are born that way or not, whether they are separate or mixed up together....whatever works works for me.

[Antisocial_Worker]

1: When did you figure out you were gay?
2: When did you tell your family? Have you? Your friends?
3: What have been their reactions? Any strangers react?
4: Anything else you would like to add?

1 -- There was always something a bit "off" about me from a very early age, but due to my family's disapproval, I repressed it. I had my first sexual encounter with my best friend at age 15, though, and found that repressing it wasn't going to work. The dam had been breached.

2 -- I never told my dad, and he died not knowing. My brother is an avid Fox News Republican/Southern Baptist, and mentioning it to him would end badly. My mother, however, knows because it got to the point that she had so many doctor's appointments that either she had to accept my boyfriend taking her, or not go. So, we've gotten to the point that she is more or less okay with things as they are, even if she'll never find them ideal. She got a bit upset a couple of weeks ago when she learned that it was my boyfriend's birthday and we hadn't told her -- she'd wanted to bake him a cake. She also makes sure to get him Christmas presents, but passes them to me in secret so my brother won't find out. All of my friends know and have known for more than a decade.

3 -- My mother eventually learned to accept it. We take her out to eat sometimes, and she has been over to our house for supper. The only reaction from strangers that I recall is a time when my boyfriend and I were taking a walk through a local cemetery, holding hands. A car driving through slowed to a stop, rolled down the window, and the people inside told us what a beautiful sight it was to see us -- two men, one black and one white -- holding hands.

4 -- Nothing comes to mind, but if you'd like to PM me with more questions, feel free.

[Sheldonrs]

1: When did you figure out you were gay?
Boys lockerroom in grade school.

2: When did you tell your family? Have you? Your friends?
I sent a mass e-mail 2 weeks after my 40th birthday.
The response was exactly the same from family and friends.
"We always knew you were gay. We're just glad you're finally having sex!"

3: What have been their reactions? Any strangers react?
All were positive reactions. Never any bad reactions from strangers either.

4: Anything else you would like to add?
Other than REALLY wanting to f*ck Matt Damon, nothing else to add.

[Cooper]

4: Anything else you would like to add?
Other than REALLY wanting to f*ck Matt Damon, nothing else to add.

My father and I exchange perverted comments about female actresses. I really like Scarlett Johansson, which I know is a fairly easy actress to like.

[KhirasHY]

1: When did you figure out you were gay?
2: When did you tell your family? Have you? Your friends?
3: What have been their reactions? Any strangers react?
4: Anything else you would like to add?

1. I came to terms with my sexuality when I was about 16, though in retrospect I could look back and see signs of it from when I first started hitting puberty. The signs were there as soon as I started having the ability to have sexual attraction, it just took a while to understand exactly what that meant.

2. My father passed away when I was young, but I told my mother when I was 18. I had told a few friends at school before that, but didn't fully come out of the closet until I was in college, partly with the help of my two straight roommates who would introduce me as "Gay Khiras" to new people. After a while of seeing no one cared, I just was out.

3. I've been fairly lucky to never have come up against negative reactions; everyone I've known has been 100% cool with it. My mother took some time to come to terms with the idea because of some family stuff related to my father (long story), but she's been very supportive.

4. Don't know about anything to add...like the others, feel free to ask questions if you want.