How to Cope When You're Gay and Lonely | GQ

Contents:

• HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU'RE GAY AND LONELY
• HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY
• MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT IF YOU'RE LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL OR TRANS (LGBTQ+)
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
• I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?
• AM I GAY?
• AM I GAY ENOUGH? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT QUEER INTY
• HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY

HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU'RE GAY AND LONELY

Part of realizg you're gay, or bi, or trans, or non-bary, or anythg other than cisgenr and heterosexual is acceptg you’re different—and somewhat separated—om the majory. Here he shar his journey to overe the sense of isolatn he felt growg up gay a small U.

At the time, there were no real gay role mols except for Graham Norton and Jack om Dawson's Creek—and I certaly didn't intify wh him bee I wasn't a football player.

I felt like I was pletely on my rried on until I was 16, when I started gog out to gay bars my hometown.

HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

I ma one gay iend, who I'm actually close to now. For the first time I've been able to form a good group of gay iends and create my own support work. I'd go on gay chatrooms but that was jt a facels nversatn wh someone who uld have been anyone.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT IF YOU'RE LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL OR TRANS (LGBTQ+)

I thk if I'd had iends who were gay when I was growg up, my life would have been so different.

I now know there were other kids at my school who were gay, but they didn't e out till much later.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

Most people the LGBTQ+ muny know om experience that acceptg your sexualy will lead to your beg a happier, more open this gui, the term gay has been ed to clu all forms of non-heterosexual attractn, whether that be people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or otherwise not straight. Know if you are gay.

I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?

Consir takg an onle sexualy quiz, like this one, to see if intifyg as gay feels right for you. There isn't any need to change yourself - beg gay is jt another way of simply existg, and there is nothg wrong wh at all. Neher is there anythg wrong wh you for beg gay.

The fact that I am gay is jt another facet of who I am, jt as beg creative, or optimistic, or havg brown ey is. Remember that beg gay do not require you to nform to typil gay stereotyp. Most people who are gay are distguishable om those that aren't.

Beg gay do not necsarily make you any ls mascule or feme, and there is no need or prsure to nform to stereotyp that don't feel right to you - bee you are who you are.

AM I GAY?

You do not need to f to the gay muny jt as much as you don't need to f to the straight muny. In 100 years, "gay" will be an entirely different ncept. There is no evince that "helpg gay people to bee heterosexual" is possible.

Homosexualy is not viewed as an illns and short, won't be treated as such. There are many, many gay people all sorts of muni, and there are many people there for you when you need support. Fd a group or a hangout where you feel fortable, and where there will be other gay people to talk wh.

AM I GAY ENOUGH? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT QUEER INTY

If you were raised an environment that owns on homosexualy, you are not worth any ls. The laws the Bible were maly for health purpos - shunng homosexualy is right next to not gettg tattoos, not eatg pork, and not wearg mixed lens, but you n bet your bottom dollar all your neighbors do those thgs.

Your iends and fay love "you, " not straight you or gay you, they love you. Unrstand that a person who is gay is no different om any other person. Like everyone else, gay people have dreams and goals and want pannship and love jt like anyone else you know.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY

If you are the USA, there is the Gay-Straight Alliance.