When Someone You Know Identifies Differently
If someone you know identifies as something besides cisgender and/or comes out to you, respect them. You don’t need to “agree” with them (even though it is NOT a choice or opinion) to be respectful towards them. Coming out is a difficult thing that has caused countless LGBTQ+ so much fear that some would rather die than be true to who they are. Someone coming out is not about you so do not say phrases such as, “But in the bible…”, “That goes against MY religion”, “It’s just a phase”, “No you’re not”, “It hurts me that you’ve become ‘that’ group”, and the list goes on. Instead, ask kind questions to understand them better and become educated. You can even simply hug them and tell them you love them, and do research on your own. Organizations such as GLAAD and GLSEN have all kinds of information about the LGBTQ+ community.
EXPLORING YOUR SEXUALITY AND IDENTITY
No matter if you are gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, asexual, demisexual, androsexual, biromantic, panromantic, lesbian, non-binary, genderfluid, agender, bigender, transgender, demigender, cisgender, or intersex, you ARE valid. You are loved by so many. It is a long journey of experimentation and you will figure out who you are. It will be okay.