#i just think it would be funny if the most conservative dad was also transgender

[psychedecay]

Darryl was completely stealth until Glenn walked in on him doing his weekly shot

[nami-lvr]

Correct OP: Part 2

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 |

Ft: Mihawk, Doffy, Cora, Buggy, and Crocodile

A/n: Hey hey hey hey hey :3 I rlly love these silly little fellas I only added my favs bc I’m biased for now. But feel free to request! Next will be Shanks, Law, Ace, Sabo, Marco, Smoker, and Princess Vivi.

Mihawk

That one dad who would for real scare everyone away from his kid

Adopted a kid

Loves his kid so much

Takes them on drives when they can’t sleep

DILF

Would not fuck

Ever

Asexual

For sure

Also Aromantic

Definitely would paint his nails like

Fall colors

Like reds and golds and maybe some purples

Anything that compliments his style

Loves the fall

Hear he out

He dresses in a romantic goth style

Not joking

That’s actually so based

Doffy

He wouldn’t be up here if I didn’t like him

W villain

Walks like he has a buttplug right up his ass

Bro is a conservative for sure

But also one of those homophobic politicians that turn out to be the biggest gay bottoms to touch the earth

Homophobic homosexual type shit going on

Corrupt politician

I love him he is so babygirl

He pretends to be in edits

Says slurs

I feel like he would be a lot like Joe Exotic if he was real

Just pulling the most outlandish stunts ever

Would love the show Jackass

Would absolutely shit on neopronouns (sorry neopronoun users I support u)

Cora

Cutie pie

Bro would go all out for valentines day

Favorite shape is a heart

Got bullied in middle school for it

Does not care

Still pulls through w that absolutely dub of a button up

Doesn’t like Doflomingo

Like

Despises him

Seriously I’m not joking

He is a homosexual and out of the closet and Doffy doesn’t support him type shit

Like these two can’t be in the same place type shit

Its bad

Likes baking shows

Finds comfort in music with no words

Not like classic music

Like this

Just finds it so ethereal and calming

Really can fall asleep to anything

Has had the fire department called on him several times in one day

Is extremely against squares

His favorite number is 69 because its a funny number

Buggy

Really likes the color blue

Is chubby

Has a dad bod

Always smells like B.O

Not bad B.O

But like a natural smell

Also finds Cora’s music calming, but in a different way.

Like he listens to it when he goes on walks

Listens to metal or K-Pop no in-between

Like he is blaring Mortician or G-Idle thats it

Plays rhythm games

Discord mod

Pulls NO hoes and all hoes at the same time

Like can’t keep a relationship but constantly in one

Has stretch marks

TRANSGENDER.

FTM TRANS MALE. ITS WRITTEN IN THE STARS.

It’s also fate that he’s a bisexual lmao

Anyways I stan this fuckin clown

Crocodile

Male manipulator

Kins Patrick Bateman

Makes fun of Sigma, Alpha, and Beta males because he believes everyone is below him anyways

Is aroace

But fucks women anyways to show power

Definitely the type of guy to pity you so much he fucks you

Like for real

Would probably smell delicious tbh

But if we’re talking like.. frfr

Like to be honest?

Doesn’t brush his teeth

Has silver teeth

Is gay

Likes men more than women but fucking men isn’t a power move to him

Doesn’t want kids like ever

Would probably make fun of everyone who thinks he’s a sweet guy to their face if he got exposed :3

Like would bully them and go after their physical attributes yk

[sarahisgay01]

If requests are open may I request some top!robin Buckley smut where she tops trans!girl reader with a praise kink, maybe with Nancy catching them and joining topping the reader?

Yes you most certainly can! I do wanna say that I’ve never written anything like this before SO if something isn’t correct PLEASE tell me!! I want to write this because I know there’s not a lot of trans!reader smut and trans readers deserve representation too🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Anyway, I’m going to do a part 2 soon on Nancy walking in!!

Hope you enjoy!!😊💖

Minors DNI (You know the drill, 18+ Only!!!)

My Girl

Top!Robin x Trans!girl bottom!reader (Somewhat Modern)

Notes: Reader is AMAB and transitioned hormonally before puberty, also SLIGHT mention of religious trauma

You had grown up in a small town, making it hard for you to transition into the girl you are today. Growing up in a small conservative town made it hard for people to grasp your name change and why you were wearing “girls” clothing. You came out as transgender at eight years old, crying and sobbing to your parents in your living room. Your dad was the one who comforted you, while your mom yelled at you and said God made you how you were supposed to be made. This was the reason your parents got divorced and you lived full time with your dad. He helped you transition immediately after the conversation and took you to see doctors about hormonal treatments. You transitioned before puberty started, so it was easier for you to pass as the girl you knew you were. You were now 18 and your dad got a new job in a town called, Hawkins, Indiana. The move felt strange, especially it being the summer before your senior year, but you were excited to attend a high school where nobody knew you. Nobody knew anything about you and nobody knew your secret.

The first day of school, you made friends with a girl in the marching band, named Robin. When you first saw her, you thought she was the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen. She was in your first period class and sat next to you, then just started talking to you. Robin never even introduced herself, you didn’t know her name until the teacher called role. You realized early on that she was a talker, but you loved it, the sound of her voice made you melt. After a week or so, she introduced you to all of her close friends. You met Steve before everyone else because you liked to visit Robin at Family Video and Steve was always there when Robin was. When you met Nancy, you thought your heart skipped a beat, she was just so beautiful. You also met Eddie, you both got along really well, you found him really funny and you were both potheads. Robin was really happy you liked everyone and everyone liked you. After a couples months of getting close with the four of them, you hung out with at least one of them after school every day. After seeing Robin almost every day for months, you developed a major crush on her, but you were too scared to do anything about it. You weren’t even sure she liked girls in the first place and even if she did, what would she think of you when she finds out your secret. These thoughts started eating you alive, you felt like you were lying to her by not telling her. One night when you were at Steve’s, you finally decided that you had to at least tell her that you liked girls. You were watching a movie with her and Steve, but you weren’t really focused on it. Throughout the movie you were biting your lip and picking at your fingers anxiously. Robin noticed and grabbed your hands and said, “(Y/N), are you okay?” You shook your head, no and tears filled your eyes. Her eyes and tone softened, she asked, “Do you wanna go talk about it?” You nodded your head, yes and she took your hand, then brought you upstairs to one of Steve’s guest bedrooms. Steve saw you were upset, so he didn’t question why you and Robin had left. When you got into the guest bedroom, she closed the door and you started to cry. She rushed over to you and said, “Hey, I’m here, (Y/N), it’s okay. You can talk to me about anything, okay? What’s wrong?” In this moment, you just let everything slip, you were too emotional to hold everything back. You rambled and said, “I’ve been- I’ve been hiding a lot of stuff about myself from you. Robin, I- I- like girls, I’m- I’m a lesbian.” She nods her head and says, “Oh, (Y/N), you have nothing to worry about. I’m also a lesbian, so don’t worry about that, okay? You’re completely safe with me.” You say, “Oh, uh- that’s not- that’s not all. I also- I uh- I like you, Robin. As uh- As more than a friend” and then you looked away from her. Your eyes were looking down at the ground, not wanting to see her reaction to what you had just confessed. She smiled and said, “(Y/N), can you look at me, please?” You hesitantly looked up and she said, “(Y/N), I like you too. I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I’ve been crushing on you since the day I met you.” She noticed you started crying more and you said, “Robin, there’s- there’s more.” Robin said “Okay. Relax for me, (Y/N), okay? I’m not going to judge you for anything, I’m not that person, you know that.” You nodded and said, “Well- um- I’m not- I’m not fully a girl, Rob. I’m- I’m transgender and I understand if that makes you not like me anymore, it-” Your ramble was interrupted by Robin’s lips crashing into yours. She released and said, “Sorry, I just- I didn’t know how to make you stop talking.” You said, “So uh- you don’t- you don’t care?” Robin shakes her head and says, “No, why would I? You’re a girl, (Y/N), just like me. I like you and that’s not going to change just because you weren’t biologically born a female.” You smiled and kissed her, you were beaming with happiness at her reaction to everything.

You both sat in Steve’s room for about half an hour, kissing and eventually, Robin pulled away. She said, “(Y/N), do you- do you want to be my girlfriend?”, you smiled, nodded, and then kissed her. Now you were both beaming and you said, “You want to go tell Steve, don’t you?” Robin blushed, then hesitantly nodded her head, you giggled and said, “Lets go tell him then, sweetheart.” Her face turned red at the nickname and then she ran out the guest bedroom, then down the stairs. She was yelling, “Steve! Steve! I have news, I have news! (Y/N) and I have news, Steve!” You follow her into the living room and she says, “(Y/N) and I are dating! (Y/N) likes girls!” Then you wrapped your arms around her and give her a kiss on the cheek. Steve smiles and says, “Thank god! I’ve been waiting for this for over a month! (Y/N), Robin would never shut up about you, almost all of her rambles were about you! I’m so happy you like her back and you both are dating.” You smiled, then said, “Oh, she rambled about me?” and Steve said, “All. The. Time.” You giggled and kissed one of Robin’s red hot cheeks. The three of you finished watching the movie and then Steve drove both you and Robin home.

It had been a couple weeks since that night at Steve’s and you fell in love with Robin more every day. You told her a couple of days ago that you loved her and you wanted to be more intimate with her. She happily agreed and said, “Well, lucky for you, (Y/N), my parents are going out of town this weekend.” You smiled and said, “Lucky timing. I can’t wait, sweetheart.” It’s now Friday night, you biked over to Robin’s house after she got off work. When you arrived, you were so glad you had the whole house to yourself. She brought you up to her room and kissed you, then lightly pushed you onto her bed. You giggled and she got on top of you, then kissed you deeper. When she released from the kiss you opened your eyes and looked into hers. Her normal light blue eyes were barely visible behind her blown out pupils. She said, “(Y/N), you’re so beautiful” and then started to kiss your neck. Robin found a tender spot and started to suck on it, eliciting a moan from your mouth. After sucking a dark bruise on your neck, she said, “(Y/N), your moans are so pretty, baby. I want to hear them all, don’t hold back for me, okay?” You nodded and she said, “Good girl”, which made you squirm. She said, “Oh? Does my pretty girl like being praised?” and you rapidly nodded her head. Robin said, “Use your words for me, sweet girl” and you said “Y- Yes, I like- I like being praised.” She grinned and said, “That’s my good girl.” You squirmed again and she said, “I’ll get there pretty girl, be a good girl and be patient for me, (Y/N).” She bit her lip as she heard you let out a small whine. You said, “I’ll be a good girl for you, Rob. I’ll be a good girl, I promise.” She kissed your forehead and said, “I know, sweet girl.” Then she moved and kissed you again, she tugged at your shirt, asking you if she could take it off. You nodded your head and she released from the kiss, then you helped her take it off of you. Robin said, “Is it okay if I take this off too, baby?” as she plays with your bra strap. You nod your head and breathily said, “Please.” She grinned and said, “Good girl for using your words, sweet girl.” You squirmed at the praise and Robin unclasped your bra, then stared at your bare chest with her bottom lip in between her teeth.

She looked up at you and said, “Fuck, you’re so beautiful (Y/N). You’re so beautiful.” You said, “Please touch me, Rob. Please” and that’s all you had to say before she leaned down and started flicking one of your nipples with her tongue. Your hips bucked up and you loudly moaned “Fuck, Robin!” She smiled as she heard her name come out of your mouth and that she could feel you getting hard underneath her. Robin moved her mouth over to your other nipple, giving it the same attention and your hips started to buck up more into her. She stopped playing with your nipple, then giggled and said, “Someone wants to be touched, hmmm?” You said, “Please, Robin! Please! I need you to touch me, please!” and she replied “Only cause you’ve been such a good girl for me, (Y/N).” Robin moved down your body and said, “Is it okay, if I take off-”, you interrupted her, saying “Yes, please take it all off, please!” Robin giggled again and said, “Alright, that answered my question.” She got up and stood between your legs at the end of the bed, then undid your jeans. You lifted your hips and she pulled down them down, along with your underwear. Her jaw dropped when she saw you laying in front of her fully naked and she said, “(Y/N), you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I love you so much, you’re so beautiful, sweet girl.” You smiled and said, “Thank you, Rob. I love you too, sweetheart.” Robin sat on her heels in between your legs and said, “Fuck your cock is so beautiful, sweet girl”, then started to stroke it. You moaned “So good! Feels so good Robin!” and she said “I’m glad sweet girl, I’m glad I can make you feel good.” Robin continued stroking your beautiful cock and after about a minute, you moaned out “Robin, I’m close! I’m close!” Robin looked at you and said, “Be a good girl and cum all over my hand, baby.” A couple seconds later, you loudly moaned, “Fuck Robin! Fuck! Fuck! Robin!” and then came all over her hand. She smiled as your chest was moving rapidly up and down. Then she went a grabbed a towel she put on her nightstand earlier. Robin wiped your cum off her hand and then cleaned off your pretty cock with the towel. You said, “Fuck, that felt so good. Thank you, sweetheart” and she said, “No need to thank me, baby. I’d do it all again to hear those pretty moans come out of your mouth.” Your cheeks turned bright red and you said in a shy voice, “Maybe next time you can do more than just stroke my cock?” Robin’s face is also turned bright red and she said “Like- Like w- what?” You could tell she was flustered and you loved teasing her when she was like this. Your eyes caught hers and you said, “Hmmm, you could ride me? I can stuff you full of my pretty cock, sweetheart. How does that sound for next time?” Robin whimpered and said “S- Sounds g- g- good. S- Sounds really really good, (Y/N).” You hum and say, “Good, I can’t wait, sweetheart”, then you give her a kiss on the cheek. After a couple minutes, she said, “Do you want to take a shower with me, sweet girl? I still need to shower from after work, but I couldn’t wait to see you tonight. We can cuddle afterwards too!” You nodded your head and said, “I’d love that, Rob.” Robin excitedly went to start the shower and get the water warm for the both of you.

When she returned back to her room, she grabbed your hand and brought you into the steamy bathroom. You both got in the shower and washed yourselves clean. You tried your best not to get distracted by Robin’s body, but it was too beautiful. Robin kept rolling her eyes as you kept gawking at her and you both would giggle. After the shower, you both got dressed in pajamas and then cuddled in bed. You nuzzled your head into Robin’s chest and one of her hands was tangled in your hair, playing with it. You said, “Rob?” and she responded back, “Mhmmm?” Your eyes started to tear up and you said, “Thank you for loving me, for me.” She looked down at you and saw some tears rolling down your face, then planted a kiss on the top of your head. Robin said, “(Y/N), you don’t need to thank me for loving who you are. I don’t care that you biologically weren’t born a female, you are a female to me. (Y/N), you are my beautiful girlfriend and I love you.” Your tears turn into sobs of happiness, which makes Robin panic. She says, “Shit (Y/N), did I say something wrong? I’m sorry if I did. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry!” and you look up at her with a smile on your face. You say, “No, no, sweetheart, you didn’t say anything wrong! You’re just so perfect and nobody’s ever made me feel this loved in my whole life.” Robin kissed your head and said, “Aw baby! I promise to make you feel loved and appreciated every day, okay?” You nod and she kisses your head again, then starts to play with your hair, like she was before, trying to calm you down. She hears you take a big yawn and says, “You tired, pretty girl?” You mumble the word, “Sleepy” and she’s trying not to freak out at how cute your tired voice is. She decided she would ramble to Steve about it at work tomorrow. Robin said, “Okay, sweet girl. Lets go to sleep” and she turned off the lamp that was on the nightstand next to her. You mumbled a “Goodnight, I love you” and Robin said, “Goodnight, sweet girl. I love you more.” Robin kissed you on the top of your head and then played with your hair until you both fell asleep. When you woke up the next morning, you almost started crying again at the way you felt so safe and loved with your girlfriend’s arms wrapped around you.

I hope you liked it!!🥺💖

[wingsofwhales]

Romantic Comedies: Where’s the Beef?

My guiltiest of guilty pleasures: Romantic Comedies. Not that I’m guilty about my love for Romantic Comedies (though being male, society would probably like if I were guilty). Almost all big name Romantic Comedies prior to 2016 (or even earlier) typically followed a strict guideline in terms of how their stories progressed. Not only that, but they typically followed a strict guideline regarding their character’s gender, sexuality, and race. That shouldn’t be a problem for most individuals. I’m not most individuals, though.

I’m the big G word.

I’m gay. I’m not only gay, but I’m hella gay. I’m a hella gay boy who grew up watching hella heteronormative movies who made great sweeping claims about romance and love. Not only is there a lot to unpack in terms of how that idea of love portrayed in media emphasized toxic masculinity, but there’s plenty to unpack in terms of what the media portrayed on who can love: white, cis-gendered, straight couples. I am only one of those things (one and a half if you wanna be pretentious about my mixed heritage).

I’m not salty about it, though. I’m kind of salty. If I think really hard about it, I’m really salty, so I try not to think about it too hard. I am, however, not salty about Chris Evans in any of these movies because Romantic Comedies introduced me to what a man he is.

Love Behind the Big (Terministic) Screen:

“When I speak of “terministic screens,” I have particularly in mind some photographs I once saw. They were different photographs of the same objects, the difference being that they were made with different color filters,” Kenneth Burke describes his definition and idea behind terministic screens (Burke, 45). It’s a pretty simple analogy and one that works well with describing how we, as humans, view our world. In particular, it gives us a great lens with which we can view media because media is simply a number of filters one on top of the other, both literal and figurative.

Love is one such screen and is described in so many works and movies, but it mostly comes center stage in both movies about love (The Notebook and other Nicholas Sparks stuff) and Romantic Comedies (27 Dresses and a lot of Chris Evans movies). What all of these movies have in common and what’s prevalent in Romantic Comedies is the notion that love is between a man and a woman and if you dare see “a gay” in these movies, they’re typically the main lady’s best friend. Not touching on the fact that they’re typically stereotypes. Moreover, it’s that these movies not only label love as between men and women, but between white men and white women. I mean, name a Romantic Comedy with two black leads that isn’t a Tyler Perry production. Okay, you got me: Just Wright with Queen Latifah was amazing, but so are most of her movies. Regardless of that fact, there’s likely 5 Romantic Comedies that got more praise (they don’t typically get a lot of praise for their predictable and often unchanged format) for every Black Romantic Comedy out there.

Why is that?

It’s because society has labeled love as something that’s white, heteronormative, and cisgendered. And we’re born into that. We look at our movies and our shows and we see a white couple and immediately understand that that’s the American Dream. Any notion of something beyond that, or different to that is often considered ‘pandering’ to a small audience or adhering to a liberal, SJW agenda. Why can’t it just be the fact that there’s all kinds of love out there? And that not all of it is white, straight, and cis?

That’s Pretty Gay Tho

Kenneth Burke defines man as a symbol-using animal, “We must use terministic screens, since we can’t say anything without the use of terms; whatever terms we use, they necessarily constitute a corresponding kind of screen; and any such screen necessarily directs the attention of one field rather than another” (Burke, 50). In this effect, as humans we use language to define certain things and in a more complex realm, we twist language into media and media defines even more things. Language will always remain a tool for humans to define things in our lives, but our mediums are ever evolving and getting even more widespread. It’s why it can be both a boon and a disaster when we use media to define ideas that society has perpetuated and will continue to perpetuate until humans start defining things differently.

Being the big ol’ Gay has been on the negative end of this desire to provide a lens for certain kinds of perspectives. Homosexuality is defined as less than men, not even men, but also as a tool for the white woman to satisfy the needs her other female friends can’t and certainly not her love interest. But, furthermore, homosexuality has its spot in the media: tragedies. Because what is being gay if not either a walking neon sign or a big ass tragedy. There’s a reason a media trope has been named after us: Bury Your Gays.

Bury Your Gays, as defined by TV Tropes, “Often, especially in older works (to the extent that they are found in older works, of course), gay characters just aren’t allowed happy endings. Even if they do end up having some kind of relationship, at least one half of the couple... has to die at the end” (TV Tropes) And the quote it takes from The Guardian discussing A Single Man nails the trope right on, “Colin Firth simply drops dead for no reason. Presumably Overwhelmed by sheer homosexuality, his heart can no longer keep beating. Beware, non-heterosexuals: Sudden Gay Death Syndrome can strike anywhere” (Rawson).

To slam that nail right into the coffin, TV Tropes has an entire list and descriptions of how this happens in various forms of media from Anime and Manga of all things to Video Games. It happens everywhere and it’s frankly tiring. Why does my life have to be a tragedy? I’m not a tragedy. I don’t come from an abusive family. My mom and dad are conservative Republican assholes who I haven’t come out to, but they wouldn’t suddenly hate me and kick me out. My life is average. My life is full of love. And I don’t want to die. Why can’t movies show that to me? If life really does get better, then why isn’t media showing me that I, a Filipino Mid-Western Homo, can find love and the hilarity of life just as easily as the white straight man or woman?

It’s 2018 and society is just now deeming it okay to put funny gay love stories on the big screen.

Love Simon just released this Spring and it was the type of mediocre Rom-Com I was looking for. Well, it wasn’t mediocre, I actually loved it... but I can’t be asked about the quality of a film I’m so biased over. I can’t critique the film because I’m just too happy that I can see a part of myself in it. That I can laugh and laugh and not worry about sobbing sad-angry tears in the end because the main character or his/her/their love interest has just died of AIDS... again. Those stories need to be heard, yes, but not in such a way that we aren’t allowed to see other, happier versions of our stories.

And then we have the fact that not many of these Rom-Coms show diversity. It took 2018 to put a big Asian cast on the big screen (no, Scarlett Johansson is not in this movie).

There’s a lot to unpack and it’s hard not to be passionate and angry about it. It’s about time that these movies are seen and that they battle the terministic screens we grew up with, that our parents grew up with, and their parents before them. This idea of the American Dream isn’t just white anymore and it isn’t very realistic either. Where is the other half of my two-and-a-half kids? Why is a kid only half a kid? I know it’s some weird average based on statistics, but that’s just so weird to say.

But, regardless, terministic screens can be used to our advantage and they’re necessary in our every day lives. We need to set terms and we need to see them through specific lenses, but sometimes we need to see them through multiple lenses. You show Andy Warhol the same picture in different sets of colors and he’ll display all of them. So, why can’t we do the same thing? Why does there only have to be one set of terministic screens in which we are taught is the normal and everything outside of it is other, is tragic, or is not worth telling? Love isn’t just white. It isn’t just cisgendered. And it isn’t just straight. Love comes in many different shades and its about time that Rom-Coms realize that and show use the hilarity of a transgender protagonist without making their gender the butt of every joke. Or an overweight protagonist. Or a bisexual protagonist. Or an older woman as a protagonist cause old people can still fall in love and they’re still beautiful, thank you very much Hollywood. Of all things that we need to broaden the screens for, Love falls under that category.

Just stop killing the gays off please. Please. And please let Chris Evans play a gay protagonist... it’s the one thing I hope for before I die.

Works Cited Stuff

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action. Empire State College, State University of New York, 1973.

“Bury Your Gays.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BuryYourGays.

Rawson, James. “Why Are Gay Characters at the Top of Hollywood's Kill List?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 June 2013, www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/jun/11/gay-characters-hollywood-films.

[whittlebaggett8]

19 people share their ‘coming out’ stories, Defence Online

caption

Coming out is a personal experience.

source

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

caption

Coming out is a personal experience.

source

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender non-binary is a personal experience.

Not everyone is in a position where they can be certain they will receive support.

INSIDER highlighted different personal accounts from self-identified LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, in transition, intersex, and asexual) Reddit users below.

Every individual story is unique, and there is no right or wrong way or time to come out.

Editor’s note: some of the content in these stories may be triggering for some individuals who have experienced discrimination or violence because of their sexuality or gender identity.

Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.

Coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community is a deeply personal and often life-altering process. Regardless of the individual circumstances, there is no right or wrong way to come out.

Of course, some people who identify as members of the LGBT community may choose to come out in a public way, others will not feel safe to do so, while others never will “officially” come out and simply live their lives. It’s important to remember that an individual’s decision to come out is their own personal choice. Regardless, reading these stories can be comforting and informative for many.

Online spaces such as the Reddit communities r/Comingout and /r/lgbt, can give people a platform to open up about their experiences and connect with others who can relate.

The following coming out stories from these Reddit users illustrate just how unique those experiences can be. Of course, INSIDER cannot independently authenticate these stories, but they perhaps they can serve as a reminder that no matter what a person’s coming out story is, everyone’s journey deserves to be heard.

Just a note, we’ve chosen to leave off names to protect the identities of those who have shared their stories.

‘My fam was playing a game where we had to tell a huge secret about ourselves’

“Well my fam was playing a game where we had to tell a huge secret about ourselves and I was about to make a joke and say, ‘I started my period’ but I only said the ‘I’ part so my mom was like, ‘Are you gay?’ So I was like, ‘Uhh yesssss’ like freakishly loudly. My mom said she already knew probs because she stole my phone and checked my search history a while back because she’s also a helicopter parent.”

‘I didn’t really come out of the closet, my mom opened the door and said, ‘Hey, you in there?”

“I joined my high school’s GSA freshman year. On a car ride to Target, my mom asked as casually as she could muster if there was any reason for that. I said I’m bisexual, she said ‘cool,’ and I assume she told my dad because basically, the whole family knew before I even said anything.

“So I didn’t really come out of the closet, my mom opened the door and said ‘hey, you in there?’”

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An unidentified woman wearing a bisexual pride flag as a cape watches an approaching group during the Pride parade in Sacramento.

source

Chris Allan/Shutterstock

‘Came out to my brother, his girlfriend, and my dad by baking cupcakes’

“First came out to my mom as trans and then months later, came out to my brother, his girlfriend, and my dad by baking cupcakes in the colors of the trans pride flag. It was really hard because I had it in my head that I was gonna get kicked out, turns out my dad is the most supportive person in my life.”

‘They didn’t believe I was gay and had normal parent reactions and to this day ignore the subject’

“Looking back at it I knew I was gay for a while. I just never had emotional or sexual attraction towards any guys until I went on an internship and pulled the old classic of falling for my roommate. I thought the feeling was mutual but obviously, I was blinded or didn’t want to believe he was straight. I never told him my feelings for him but it was pretty obvious. I did some things that made it clear such as looking at his text and basically acting like a jealous lover. I suspect he figured it out.

“Anyway … I flipped when he got a girlfriend and I couldn’t contain my feelings anymore so I came out to my social worker. I also got the courage to come out to my friend and brother which went great and they were very supportive.

“When I told my parents after they came to visit it went downhill. They didn’t believe I was gay and had normal parent reactions and just to this day ignore the subject and my sexuality which bothers me a lot because I feel like I can’t move forward ’til they accept me for who I am.”

‘I had to ask my friend to look at the comments the next day since I was too afraid to look’

“I spent most of the night before my 25th birthday writing and rewriting a long drawn out post about how I felt. I planned on posting the status on my birthday, near the time I was born, and I pretty much said that I was born as myself and that my life has a funny way of telling me I’m a little different from who I thought I was. I had to ask my friend to look at the comments the next day since I was too afraid to look, but it turns out everyone who saw it was very accepting and warm so I was very lucky.”

They told people, ‘I look a little different’

“I met people in person, with a, ‘I look a little different.’ text sent out shortly before.”

‘My mom read my paper and then sat me down to have a talk about it, I panicked and told her I was a lesbian’

“7th grade we had to describe ourselves in a song and I chose ‘Misery’ by Maroon 5 for some reason. My mom read my paper and then sat me down to have a talk about it, I panicked and told her I was a lesbian. She was just hugging me and telling me that she would love me no matter what my preferences are. Then she told my dad and he was chill about it.”

‘I broke their heart by telling them, but their heart was broken because they realized they had a child who was hurting deeply for all of these years without them knowing or being able to help’

“I had resolved that I would never tell my family how I felt unless I absolutely had to. Eventually, I had some life experiences that were just too rich and wonderful and showed me how beautiful our world is and how my concern of being rejected for how I choose to express my feelings was just of little significance.

“I told my sister who was supportive and un-surprised. Finally, and very recently, I told my very conservative parents. I was only able to justify telling them by acknowledging that I was only telling them how I felt, not what I planned to do, and that they couldn’t really reject my feelings even if they didn’t like my feelings. They could only reject decisions. But ultimately I was met with nothing but love and support.

“I broke their heart by telling them, but their heart was broken because they realized they had a child who was hurting deeply for all of these years without them knowing or being able to help. They want to know how they can best support me, and for the first time in my life, I think that I can be best supported by them and my other loved ones by acknowledging my feelings and my journey on the path to transitioning.”

‘I responded with, ‘I’m gay and hate children’ I’ve never seen a salesman look so ashamed of himself and I also came out to my dad at the same time’

“I was buying a car. My dad was with me and we were at our 4th (and final) dealership of the day. I flat out told the salesman that I wanted to be sold the smallest sedan they had on the lot unless they had a coupe [ … ] First thing out of the salesman’s mouth after that was, ‘You really should get an SUV in case you accidentally get pregnant.’ Me being the jerk I am, I instantly responded with ‘I’m gay and hate children. Any kids I have will be extremely well planned and extremely unwanted.’ I’ve never seen a salesman look so ashamed of himself and I also came out to my dad at the same time. Neither guy spoke unless I asked a question after that.”

‘And I just came dressed as a girl’

“Came out on Black Friday […] And I just came dressed as a girl. And then I stayed like that. And a week passed and I was brought into HR and asked if this was permanent, I said yes. And went back to work.”

‘Showed up at my mother’s house with my boyfriend and told her. She didn’t like it at first until the day she noticed me being happy …’

“Showed up at my mother’s house with my boyfriend and told her. She didn’t like it at first until the day she noticed me being happy and proactive with my life. She started finding room in her heart to be on board with it. Now we visit her house once a month for dinner with the whole family. Today I’m in a happy relationship and am two months into my MTF HRT [male to female hormone replacement therapy], so the thing to remember is to give your friends and family time to adjust and gently show them that this is what makes you happy and fingers crossed they accept you for you. “

‘I said, ‘It’s National Coming Out Day”

caption

Participants take part in the annual NYC Pride parade.

source

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

“I came out a few months ago, on National Coming Out Day. I said ‘It’s National Coming Out Day’ and my mom said ‘You have something to come out to me about?’ (Jokingly) [I said], ‘Yeah, I am gay.’”

‘Told two other friends through the topic of crushes, giving them a ‘guess my crush’ puzzle and plot twist at the end, it’s a guy!’

“Told my first friend through text after commenting on how a male anime character was kinda hot … Told two other friends through the topic of crushes, giving them a ‘guess my crush’ puzzle and then boom, plot twist at the end, it’s a guy!”

‘My dad unlocks the door and in comes both my grandmothers. They both just hug me and tell me they love me just the way I am’

“One of my friends got the idea to be my ‘date’ to Thanksgiving dinner, so that my family wouldn’t bug me so much about finding a girlfriend. She knew I was gay, and knew I hadn’t told them.

“We go. She’s my ‘date,’ gives me hugs. A little cheek smooch. Sold. Then I see this … look in my grandmother’s face at dinner. It hurt. It hurt to see her beaming over something that was a lie.

“I felt hoooooriiible. Like I just wanted to go crawl into the oven and die next to the turkey. It comes as a surprise to many people, but I practicality NEVER lie to my family.

“For some reason, at the table, my grandpa decided that I should lead grace…

“I don’t know if it was just because my head was stuck, or what … but I just went ‘I’m gay’ and a river of tears and snot came out of my face so I went and locked myself in my room.

“About an hour goes by and the house is dead quiet. My dad unlocks the door and in comes both my grandmothers. They both just hug me and tell me they love me just the way I am.

“I thought I’d died. My friend sheepishly came into the room and handed me a plate of food. She told me my parents said I can take all the time I need to calm myself, and then come back and celebrate.

“They treated it like it was the best thing since sliced bread and I nearly had p—– my pants.”

‘I was crying the whole time, but they weren’t tears of sadness. Coming out was the biggest weight that ever came off my shoulders’

“I got home from church after my conservative pastor gave his most homophobic sermon yet, and I sobbed into my pillow in my bedroom. My mom heard me and asked what I was crying about. The words were too difficult to speak. But she put things together and realized that I was upset about the sermon, and she finally asked, ‘Do you think you’re gay?’ That’s when I said yes. We spent the next hour sitting together on her bed eating In-N-Out french fries while she asked me about all of my high school crushes. I was crying the whole time, but they weren’t tears of sadness. Coming out was the biggest weight that ever came off my shoulders.”

‘It was interesting to see their faces as they processed that Logan was not a girl’s name.’

“I told my family the name of my crush after Christmas Eve dinner when I was 16. It was interesting to see their faces as they processed that Logan was not a girls name.”

‘One of my ‘best friends’ went and told EVERYONE we knew almost immediately’

“I came out to my friends at 15 – only my two closest [friends] as we’re in a fairly rural place and I was worried about it. One of my ‘best friends’ went and told EVERYONE we knew almost immediately, and when I called them out, her response was ‘But no one minds!’ I got a lot of s— about it for years after that. But the total kicker is I dumped her as a friend straight away and her brother messaged me on Facebook apologizing for what she’d done. I’ve now been dating her brother for 2 and a half years and he hates her too.”

‘I came out as a trans guy a few years ago not by choice … I was basically forced to explain’

“I came out as a trans guy a few years ago not by choice (my dad was on my computer and found my personal blog) and I was basically forced to explain. He totally flipped out on me and alternated between laughing in my face and threatening to kick me out.

“A lot of the experience I block out because it’s very traumatic. I’m okay now but I ended up living with my grandparents for a while. Coming out isn’t always, ‘It’s okay, we always knew, we’ll always love you’ and I really envy people with experiences like that.”

‘Told my stepmom […. ] they kicked me out for about a month and I lived with my grandma’

“Told my stepmom, she called me disgusting and [then] told my dad even though I asked her not to. They kicked me out for about a month and I lived with my grandma. When I went back they put me into church school, took away my phone, TV, clothes that looked too ‘Dudeish’ (legit just all my T-shirts) and they told me I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone.”

‘I was internally screaming in gay of happiness’

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Others participate in pride parades before “formally” coming out.

source

Getty Images

“My friend and I were having a sleepover at her house and we stayed up talking for a long time, both of us telling things that we hadn’t shared with anyone before. At this point, it was 5 a.m.

“I have known that I’m gay for quite some time now. I’ve wanted to come out so badly and until yesterday, I hadn’t told anyone (apart from some internet friends). I had sort of decided that if there came an appropriate moment to tell her during that sleepover, I would.

“That moment came when she told me that she thinks she’s bi. I was internally screaming in gay of happiness. I said that that is SO COOL and then I told her that I’m gay. She was like WHAAAT THAT’S SO COOL. And then we both were like HSJSKDKDJDJ HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?? Honestly, I was kind of panicking, but it was like in a good way.

“We talked about how we knew, for how long we have known, which girls we’ve had crushes on and a lot more. It was amazing. I’m the first person she’s told as well.

“When I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I thought about. That I told someone. That I opened the door to the closet. It feels weird and almost surreal not to be alone about it anymore, but it feels so right.

“I still have a long way to go and a lot of people to come out to and I know it won’t be easy. But now I have started, and it started so epically and felt so good.”

The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth. Call 1-866-488-7386 to reach the TrevorLifeline available 24/7 or text TREVOR to 1-202-304-1200 to reach TrevorText available M-F from 3 p.m. – 1 p.m.

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Melissa Harris-Perry on protest, parenting, and Louis Farrakhan: 'The most dangerous anti-Semite in the country currently lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue'

Melissa Harris-Perry. (Photo: Getty Images/Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Lifestyle)

To mark the International Day of the Woman on March 8 and Women’s History Month, Yahoo Lifestyle is exploring notions of feminism and the women’s movement through a diverse series of profiles — from transgender activist Ashlee Marie Preston to conservative campus leader Karin Agness Lips — that aim to reach across many aisles. 

Ever since she first burst into national view as an MSNBC commentator, and then host of her own show in 2012, Melissa Harris-Perry has been telling it like it is.

But the esteemed professor of African-American studies and political science — at the University of Chicago, followed by Princeton University, Tulane University, and now Wake Forest University, where she is also the executive director of the Pro Humanitate Institute and founder of the Anna Julia Cooper Center — has been speaking and writing frankly about race relations and human rights for much of her life.

It was in a way unavoidable, considering the groundbreaking Southern family Harris-Perry, 44, comes from: Her father was the first dean of African-American affairs at the University of Virginia, and his twin brother was the first chair of aeronautic engineering at MIT, and their legendary status infused the family with the fierce believe that being black in this country was not a reason to be held back.

Today, MHP, as she’s known, is teaching, writing, leading, and parenting (she has three daughters) younger generations to be strong thinkers and leaders, with feminism at the core of all her messaging. She recently spoke with Yahoo Lifestyle in honor of Women’s History Month, touching on topics from the Women’s March and its recent controversy to raising a rebellious teen.

  Yahoo Lifestyle: Ahead of the March for Our Lives, you wrote for Elle, where you are editor-at-large, about who is and who is not allowed to be angry in our culture. The Parkland students have done a great job at bringing students from across the country, including Chicago, into this anti-gun-violence movement. How else can we change the narrative?

MHP: The kids are great. The students from Parkland themselves, I think, are highly aware of the ways in which they operate and are clearly deploying their race and economic privilege to… acknowledge and recognize that their peers who were less able to do so. We can go back to Rosa Parks, and the idea of how Rosa Parks’ role in our memory is so different from [that of] Claudette Colvin… the unmarried pregnant African-American girl who had also resisted Jim Crow segregation just a month before, and been arrested on the bus, but didn’t have the training of being an activist and just wasn’t reputable in the same ways.

I saw you address the crowd at Power to the Polls, the Women’s March Las Vegas event in January. You said, “Saying thank you to black women is not a damn hashtag.” What did you mean?

Part of what I was doing was telling my personal family story. My family has long thought of itself as originating itself from my father and his twin brother, highly accomplished men. I’d recently gone back and was reading this late 1950s Ebony article [now framed] that reported on my dad and his twin brother and called them “the genius twins of Richmond, Virginia.” This time I noticed in the story, more carefully, my grandmother. And there’s one [part] in which they’re talking about my dad and his brother going off to this academic summer program, and how my grandmother, who was a really brilliant seamstress… knew, because the boys were going to this summer program, that they weren’t going to work that summer, so there wasn’t going to be coal to heat the house that winter. It was the first time it has truly occurred to me how much that story is not really my dad’s story or my uncle’s story — it’s really my grandmother’s story. And as much as they were geniuses, how could they possibly be geniuses unless they came from a genius — one literally willing to be cold in the winter so that they could go to school? It floored me. I couldn’t speak.

Thanks @TimesTalks for the opportunity to moderate this amazing conversation with @OsopePatrisse and #AngelaDavis. I’ll never forget it. pic.twitter.com/BDMzfgV3xF

— Melissa Harris-Perry (@MHarrisPerry) February 21, 2018

We don’t really know how to recover the genius of a black woman who died never being degreed or rich or any of these particular things that we call success, but nonetheless made every other single thing possible. So what I want to do is when we say “thank you, black women,” what we’re actually doing is having a reclamation of their genius, and thinking about how to make public policy that would’ve made life easier for Grandma Rosa just so that her sons could learn.

What’s your take on the recent controversy surrounding Women’s March founder Tamika Mallory, and her refusal to denounce the anti-Semitic, homophobic statements of Louis Farrakhan?

My sense is she has a personal connection to Minister Farrakhan, that that personal connection is about a deep loyalty that extends way farther back to a community —like, decades deeper than the Women’s March — and that in many ways, the Women’s March and her leadership takes advantage of her sets of ties… So my sense is that the most dangerous anti-Semite in the country currently lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And to have any concern about Louis Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism is weird.

Like, Louis fu**ing Farrakhan? Are you serious? Because Louis Farrakhan is empowered to do what? He runs an organization that controls what resources? And creates what policy? And owns property where? I mean, it’s weird. The President of the United States has questioned the humanity — like are they human — of Jewish people. The President of the United States. So I’m super-duper focused on that. And that various people walking around the planet are racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, is like shrug-my-shoulders true. I mean I’m a black woman. Most people I’ve worked around, worked for, worked near, have opinions about me that are typically pretty fu**ing horrifying. Like, I grew up in the South in the 1970s with a white mother and a black father. I don’t thought-police people. From my perspective it’s like, “OK, sure.”

We saw Barack Obama break ties with his minister, Jeremiah Wright, following controversy during his campaign…

We said, “Oh my god, Jeremiah Wright said racist words, in our opinion, and you must now break your ties with your minister!” And as far as I know, that family has never had a church home again. That’s rough. I mean, I’m sure they’ve gone to church as an official matter… but they don’t have a church home, which in the black community is actually a big fu**ing deal. So they broke their relationship with their minister, but at least they got elected to office twice. As far as I know, no one is offering that to Tamika Mallory. And she’s being asked to denounce this by people who, as far as I know, have never denounced their racism, sexism, their homophobia. That’s strange, no. So it’s not that complicated to me. I wouldn’t [apologize] either. No. We get to all pick our own relationships.

The thing I’m always worried about in the world is power, and how power is wielded in ways that cause inequity. So if you can show me that Minister Farrakhan has taken his position and used his position to create inequity and inequality for Jewish people, then I will denounce that tomorrow. But holding horrifying opinions seems to me to be a protected right under our constitution — so protected, that I even think it’s OK for our president to hold them. And our president uses his horrifying opinions to then enact them into policy. If he believes that Mexicans are rapists and then withdraws DACA, that’s a problem. So I’m always much more interested in racism, sexism, homophobia when they are manifest as a matter of inequity in public policy.

Your daughters are 4 and 16. How do you balance teaching them about all the injustices in this world without terrifying them with reality?

They’re sort of funny and different in this way, and my big girl, who’s 16, is like not what most people would probably expect. [Laughing] You probably think, “Oh MHP, 16-year-old daughter, I’m sure she’s, like, burning down the streets!” No, she’s more like your first black Republican first lady! A little bit. Not completely, but more like that than burning it down in the streets. She’s been in about three years of very, very strong rebellion. So what does rebellion against MHP look like? I’m real sex-positive and feminist and progressive, so my kid is like, “My god, sex is dirty, and drugs are bad!”

She goes to an all-girls’ high school [and the day after Trump was elected] they were all in tears, and Parker being Parker looks at the young women in her class and says, “Pull yourselves together, he’s your president now, be respectful!” [Laughing] And I was like, “Oh my goodness, no!”

But my kids are just like fish swimming in the waters of social justice and race talk and feminism conversations, and it is just what we do and talk about and think about in the house. So in that sense it’s not scary, because it just is. So I think, because the news is fodder for conversation and because we try not to either talk over their heads or make things like ‘Oh that’s just for adults and kids shouldn’t know about it,’ what I hope is that it feels empowering in whatever way she wants to feel empowered. So when we do have political disagreements, which we sometimes do, what she knows is that there’s no thing that she could say or do or believe that would keep her outside the circle of our family and of our love.

With the 4-year-old, she’s actually the most woke child on the planet. She somehow is, like, from Wakanda! [Laughs] I don’t really know how it’s possible, but even though she’s only 4 she goes first to the black kids on the playground, and loves her people from the core of her soul. It’s not that she knows what politics are, but she does seem to have a preference for blackness and always has. It will be interesting to see what all that turns into, but man, I think that kid might actually be Alicia Garza who I had by accident. She just showed up that way. I always say: You’re a sociologist until you have children, and then it’s your nemesis, because you realize they come however they come. And you can crush that experience or you can nurture them, but they show up how they show up. I like them both a lot, and I can’t wait to see who they turn into.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Why ‘Museum Mammy’ believes the feminist movement ‘will never be perfect’

The most pressing question of Women’s History Month: What is feminism in 2018?

Conservative millennial Kassy Dillon: ‘I don’t like the term ‘feminist’”

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