Internatnal OCD Foundatn | How Do I Know I’m Not Really Gay/Straight?

Contents:

• PEOPLE THK I'M GAY... BUT I'M NOT
• HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?
• ASK POLLY: WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS THK I’M GAY?
• AM I GAY?
• EVERYONE THKS I'M GAY BUT I'M NOT
• HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY
• I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?
• WHY DO EVERYONE THK I'M GAY?!
• THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH
• AM I GAY? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY?
• I’VE INTIFIED AS GAY FOR YEARS. NOT ANYMORE.

PEOPLE THK I'M GAY... BUT I'M NOT

So ’s been a mon trend ever sce I was highschool that everyone always asks one way or another “is he gay” or “ are you gay” and ’s gettg irratg. In orr to have doubts about one’s sexual inty, a sufferer need not ever have had a homo- or heterosexual experience, or any type of sexual experience at all. If the sufferer is heterosexual, then the thought may be that they are homosexual.

HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?

If on the other hand they happen to be homosexual they may obss about the possibily that they might really be straight. ” Some people’s doubts are further plited by havg such experienc as hearg other people talkg or lookg their directn and thkg that the people mt be analyzg their behavr or appearance and talkg about them – discsg how they mt be gay (or straight).

For those wh thoughts of beg homosexual, part of the distrs mt surely be social orig.

Let’s face , gay people have always been an opprsed mory wh our culture, and to sudnly thk of beg this posn, and to be stigmatized this way, n be ighteng. I have sometim wonred if those who experience the most distrs om such thoughts as the do so bee they were raised wh more strongly homophobic or anti-gay attus to beg wh, or if is simply bee one’s sexualy n be such a basic doubt. Lookg at attractive men or women, or pictur of them, or readg sexually oriented lerature or pornography (hetero- or homosexual), to see if they are sexually excg.

ASK POLLY: WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS THK I’M GAY?

Observg themselv for evince of “lookg, ” talkg, walkg, drsg, or gturg like someone who is eher gay or straight. Compulsively reviewg and analyzg past teractns wh other men or women to see if they have acted like a gay or straight person. Readg articl on the ter about how an dividual n tell if they are gay or straight to see which group they might be most siar to.

AM I GAY?

Can you sudnly turn to a homosexual (or heterosexual) even if you have never felt or acted that that way? If I get sexual sensatns when viewg sexual material of an oppose orientatn do mean I am gay (or straight)? A typil example would be a heterosexual man who experienc an erectn while lookg at gay eroti.

This reactn is strengthened by the rrect belief that homosexual cu never stimulate heterosexuals. Avoidg standg close to, touchg or bshg agast members of the same sex (or oppose sex if the sufferer is gay).

EVERYONE THKS I'M GAY BUT I'M NOT

Not readg or lookg at vios news reports books or articl havg anythg to do wh gay people or other sexual subjects. Never sayg the words “gay, ” “homosexual, ” (or “straight”) or any other related term.

Tryg to not look or act effemately (if a man), or a mascule way (if a woman), (or vice versa if the sufferer is gay). Not drsg ways that would make one look effemate (if a man), or mascule (if a woman), (aga vice versa if the sufferer is gay). Avoidg associatg wh anyone who may be gay or who seems to lean that directn (if the sufferer is heterosexual).

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

The flip si of this is when they look at thgs havg to do wh sex of an oppose orientatn and then feel aroed some way, which they then nclu to mean that they liked , which means that they are gay (or straight). Visg gay meetgs shops, browsg gay bookstor, or visg areas of town that are more predomantly gay.

Dog a seri of wrg assignments of a uple of pag each that suggt more and more that you actually are gay or wish to be. Makg a seri of three-mute tap that based on the wrgs gradually suggt more and more that you are gay, and listeng to them several tim a day changg them when they no longer bother you). Avoid observg yourself to see if you behaved a way you image a homosexual or member of the oppose sex would.

High school iends who had e out to her as gay didn’t believe her when she told them that she was bisexual, cg her past relatnships wh men. She felt like her queerns alienated her om her straight iends, and her relatnships wh men prevented her om fully relatg to her gay iends.

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

A 2017 review of 52 studi, for stance, found that when pared wh heterosexual people, bisexual people had higher rat of prsn and anxiety, and higher or equivalent rat of those ndns when pared wh those who intified as gay. People unr 25, nclud somethg siar among Ameri’s youth: Bisexual high school stunts reported more feelgs of sadns and hopelsns and more thoughts of suici than those who intified as heterosexual or ’s also some evince that bisexual people fared worse than their heterosexual and gay unterparts durg the panmic, cludg greater strs, lonels, psychologil distrs and fatigue; and poorer mental and physil health than those intifyg as straight or dispary is often a rult of the prejudic bisexual people face, Dr. The study found that much of this discrimatn often om gay and lbian people, followed by fay members and straight people; and n directly impact bisexual people’s mental health, cludg ntributg to prsn, strs and exacerbated or triggered anxiety (cludg panic attacks and post-trmatic strs disorr).

She said she was never ashamed of her sexualy until her 20s, when both gay and straight iends and fay started tellg her they didn’t believe she was really attracted to women, and that she was gog through a phase. Fish, bisexual people are ls likely than gay and lbian people to disclose their sexualy to people their liv.

“The most challengg thg hasn’t been wh my straight iends, ’s been wh gay men I’ve dated, ” he said. McKenzie said, referrg to the moment after he’s told a gay partner that he’s bisexual.

WHY DO EVERYONE THK I'M GAY?!

My classmat thk that Im gay bee acrdg to their words "I walk like a girl and have feme quali". Even my mother says that I walk like a girl although she never said that Im gay.

THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH

The people around me cludg my mother lls me "half ladi" but the fact that my newer classmat, wh whom ive met jt 3 months ago, ll me gay for my style of walkg and for my personaly is ncerng me. Do havg the feme quali as mentned above mak someone gay or a ladyboy/trans?

”Dear Polly, I fally garnered the urage to wre to you about my particular problem, and I hope you n shed some of your wisdom on the sce the 6th gra, people have been askg me if I’m gay.

Back then, the other kids thought any person who was any b different om them was gay, and attached a bad meang to the word. I found a great girl sophomore year and we dated up until senr year, but the askg still ntued, some of which was g om my clost high school, I tried as hard as I uld to rid myself of the label people had given me.

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

It also didn’t really help my se that my bt iend me out that he was gay senr year. However, people I had barely e to ntact wh began walkg up to me and askg if I was gay.

Some of the women are hopg you’ll be the gay nfidant of their dreams, or maybe they want to be the one who gracefully hers you out of the closet. (Intertgly, if you’re a women, the same behavrs will make people thk you’re gay. You have to five yourself for not livg up to your ternal fantasy of what you “should” ask, “If there’s nothg I n do to nvce people I’m not gay, then am I really gay?

You uld rent When I Knew, the documentary where gay men and women expla how they figured out they were or no duck, somethg feels unsettled to you about your inty right now.

I’VE INTIFIED AS GAY FOR YEARS. NOT ANYMORE.

And sce jog the fandoms I’ve been exposed to some very explic smut, het and gay.

) It’s rarer than beg gay or trans, so I feel sort of alienated and like I’d be makg a fs over nothg.