When did you first know you were LGBT+?
How old were you? Were your family surprised? Or were you told to “fight your urges”?
Well, it’s a big moment of self-realisation. You may have felt relief, joy and excitement for the future ahead. It’s a big moment – but definitely not a simple process. Sadly, such an important time of one’s life can also be followed/compounded by bullying, rejection and isolation.
With increasing levels of anti-LGBT+ rhetoric, especially regarding queer children and inclusive education, it’s important to raise critical awareness of the experiences of our LGBT+ siblings and understand their experiences.
With that in mind, Stonewall recently took to Twitter to ask this exact question:
When did you realise (that you were LGBTQ+)?
It sounds like some people still think you can only know you’re LGBTQ+ once you become an adult. Whoever knew they were LGBTQ+ at 12, put your hand up!
— stonewalluk (@stonewalluk) September 8, 2020
When did you realise? Share your story on the hashtag #ifirstknewIwasLGBTQ – we will retweet our favourites
Of course they received a lot of responses! Stories of joy, prejudice and self discovery all followed.
These experiences can tell us a lot about how far we’ve come (thankfully!). However they also reveal how far we still need to go to fight LGBT+ discrimination and bigotry. How things could have simply been so much more positive for so many people if attitudes had been different…
So, with that in mind, we’re sharing our 10 favourite responses (in no particular order). Warning: some are more cheerful than others…
1. Be my prince!
I was 5.
— Fionn Grunspan (@Fionn_Grunspan) September 9, 2020
The most normal thing to me:
Asking boys in my class “will you be my prince and marry me?”
If they said yes, I would kiss them on the cheek#ifirstknewIwasLGBTQ https://t.co/z6Drk8n5XJ
2. Feeling deeper friendship
3. Teenage transitioning
#ifirstknewIwasLGBTQ I was 16 and worked up all my courage to try something I had only dreamt of – dressing differently. I had always felt different from my peers and hated my body. Back then it was just some simple hair clips and bracelets. 11 years later and this is me..
— Danielle (@logicallysynced) September 8, 2020pic.twitter.com/vnO0UDbG1H
4. Being ahead of society
5. Recognising your reality
#ifirstknewIwasLGBTQ when i was in 7th grade and my reflection felt wrong. Blessed to finally recognize my reflection today
— Kelly (@kellybourbon) September 9, 2020pic.twitter.com/bflMQVeocX
6. Hoping for change
7. Surviving suicide
8. Leaving the pain behind
9. This tomboy is queer!
10. The barriers of bullying
It’s great to see our queer brothers and sisters out and proud!
However, with such experiences of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, we need to help make the world a less hetero-normative and more queer-inclusive place!
Here’s how!
Take action
Support your LGBT+ siblings, children, friends and family – and let’s work to make these experiences a thing of the past:
- Accept and celebrate them for who they are
- Listen to their experiences, wants and needs – without judgement
- Don’t force them to choose between their gender/sexuality and their faith or cultural identity
- Allow them to come out (publically) when, how and if they want – on THEIR terms
- Share the message that #loveislove and that we’re all equal!
For further information and support, please visit:
And remember, say it loudly and clearly: love is love!
This post was originally published on Voice of Salam.
