Dear Queerantine,
Let’s give space to our stories
I was raised in the smallish town of Seguin, Texas. It was — and still is — a highly conservative, predominately Catholic, low-income community.
My first queer crush was the cast of the TV show The OC. I found the men — and the women — attractive. Of course, I could only tell my mom about the men.
She’s a single mom who raised me without any financial or emotional support from my father. My mom has told me since I was a small child that she would support me if I was a lesbian. In her mind, being a lesbian is completely normal… being straight is completely normal… but being bisexual is, well, not normal.
I’ve never identified as a lesbian. My mom has only known me as straight, even though I didn’t have my first kiss until I was 18 and didn’t lose my virginity until I was 21.
It took me moving to New York City three years, and a friend asking me if I was bisexual, for me to feel comfortable calling myself anything but straight. I wasted too much energy and time being afraid of my attraction to women. I would tell my younger self to get over myself and be confident in my sexuality.
💃 New York, NY, US
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Hey, I appreciate the letter! I’m glad you were able to appreciate and come to terms with your attraction to women. Coming out as Bi, is a lot harder (from what I’ve experienced) than most people think. So good on you!!