What If You Only Thought You Were Gay? | GQ

Contents:

• WHAT IF YOU ONLY THOUGHT YOU WERE GAY?
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
• CAN A STRAIGHT GUY ETHILLY ACCEPT ORAL SEX OM HIS GAY BUDDY?
• AM I GAY?
• THE GAY-O-METER! ?️‍? LGBTQ QUIZ
• HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY
• FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS

WHAT IF YOU ONLY THOUGHT YOU WERE GAY?

In the early neti, Dan Rothenberg was havg a gay old time—lerally. ” Fifteen years later, he ss outsi a Wt Hollywood Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf remiscg wh a woman about his days as an out-and-proud gay man.

Five or so years before that, Rothenberg was paralyzed by fear over the realizatn that he wasn’t actually gay.

’”From the Edors of DetailsDpe the sistence of many—straight and gay—that swchg between sexual preferenc n’t technilly happen, Rothenberg isn’t the only man to have believed he was homosexual before cidg that he was wrong. The aren’t gays who attend fah-based programs to be “cured, ” or bisexuals who rotate between male and female sex partners the way the rt of alternate pairs of sho.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

And they’re not the type who hi gay urg public while privately trottg off to the lol Andrew Br, who grew up Milwkee, was all about girls—until he had sex wh a guy at the end of his senr year of high school. When he later fell love wh a woman (who was at the time a lbian) and realized he was straight, he didn’t rm anyone that he’d been wavg that rabow flag although there aren’t statistics to show how many men go through a siar sexual shift, anecdotal evince suggts that some men who nsir themselv to be gay experience this kd of change not bee of sexual experimentatn or peer prsure but bee they ci that they want to sleep wh women stead of Ethan Robson (not his real name), a 37-year-old film edor om Los Angel, chasg women durg his post-llege years beme a chore.

“If I went to a gay bar I got h on like crazy, whereas at a straight bar the women all but turned their backs, ” Robson says. “At gay clubs you danced, you had fun.

CAN A STRAIGHT GUY ETHILLY ACCEPT ORAL SEX OM HIS GAY BUDDY?

”After that relatnship fizzled, Robson dated another guy but eventually realized that he wasn’t gay.

Bob (not his real name), a 33-year-old artist om Los Angel, cid he was gay when he was about 10. Although he had sex wh girls high school, an extremely close iendship wh a neighborhood boy, bed wh homophobic tnts om his sports ach, only strengthened his belief that he was gay. I was like, ‘I’m not gay, I’m not gay, I’m not gay.

’ It was like the flip scenar of when I thought I was gay.

AM I GAY?

”While the men all thk the swch om gay to straight was a five experience, some experts are skeptil that such a turnaround happens any but the rart s.

“I’ve only n across men who me out of the closet and pursued their gay inty but uldn’t whstand the prsur of fay and society so returned to beg closeted and heterosexual relatnships, ” says Ian Kerner, Ph. |Intifyg as Gay. Gay dividuals are romantilly or sexually attracted to people who are the same genr as them.

If you’re more aroed by people who are the same genr as you, you might be gay. Keep md that experienc of sexual aroal are extremely nuanced, and aren’t ncrete proof that you’re gay.

THE GAY-O-METER! ?️‍? LGBTQ QUIZ

For stance, you n be aroed by gay adult media whout necsarily beg gay yourself. If you tend to velop csh on people who are the same genr as you, uld be a sign that you’re gay. You n be gay even if you’ve had straight relatnships the past.

If you felt unfortable wh physil ntact wh each girl, you may be gay. If you often fantasize about relatnships volvg specific genrs, you may be queer or gay. You may be gay, but you uld also be pansexual or bisexual if you sometim thk about the other genr.

HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

Don’t assume you’re gay based on how you walk, talk, or drs. You’ve probably heard stereotyp about what mak someone gay, but none of the are te. Siarly, walkg or dancg a certa way don’t make you gay, eher.

For stance, havg a high-pched voice as a guy don’t make you gay.

How do you know if you’re gay? If you enjoy flirtg wh the same genr, you might be gay or queer. Keep md that even if you have a sexual experience wh someone of the same genr or another genr, that don’t necsarily mean that you’re gay.

FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS

Thgs would be so simple if you uld jt label yourself as gay and be done wh , but may not be that easy.

If you’re not ready to tell everyone that you’re gay, that’s okay! However, you might later realize you’re gay.