Ahhh, I have kind of a strange identity. Like, even here I'm kind of hesitant about saying it because I've gotten some pretty,,, bad reactions. Not like, screaming or anger or anything but like, close friends not understanding and saying kind of really hurtful things. I'm genderfluid.

So, when someone is genderfluid, they don't adher to a strict gender binary. Personally, I picture it with gender as a sliding scale. Most people are fixed on either 'boy', 'girl', or 'neither', but I'm not. Sometimes I am a girl, sometimes I am a boy, and most days I don't really feel like I have a gender. It was really confusing at first, because when I feel very strongly that I am a boy I experience some of the same dysphoria that some of my trans friends have described to me, but because it wasn't a set thing, I didn't always feel it, I kind of brushed it off and tried to handle the intense hatred I had of my body during those periods. My gender 'shifts' can last anywhere from a day to several weeks, so I'd spend that time frustrated and sullen and angry without really knowing why.

The first person I told was my best online friend at the time, and they're actually the ones that told *me* about genderfluidity. After that, I told my mom and she was...supportive? Like, she didn't *really* understand, and she said some casually hurtful things at first, but we have a pretty open, good relationship and we worked through and talked it over. She explained her intentions and I explained why what she said was hurtful and she's been super supportive since then. (She's started calling me Sam instead of Sammy, and referring to me by gender neutral terms. I haven't gotten her to use 'they' yet, which is the pronoun I am most comfortable with, but she does call me 'her child' instead of 'her daughter').

For the most part, it's been a lot of bumpy starts but eventual comfort. The next person I told was my friend J, and I really thought he'd understand what I was talking about [he's a transboy], but he said some kind of hurtful things at first and I just brushed it off like I always do but I can't help but hold it against him still. I haven't really told anyone else (well, except for all of you now :P)

I also struggle with a lot of anxiety, dissociation, and some OCD tendencies. A lot of my anxiety is just the usual stuff, public speaking and talking to strangers, but it gets really, really bad around guys or when I try to buy comics[I've had some really bad experiences]. My dissociation is pretty disruptive to my day-to-day life, and I have to wear rings in order to actually feel like I'm attached to my body. They act as a sort of tether, keeping me in control of my body instead of switching to an alternate persona that I use to defend myself. If I take them off or forget them, I become ditzy, spacey, and I start losing time (I lost 8 hours once and since then I've been pretty good about wearing them). The OCD tendencies are usually pretty mild, but if I start getting raw emotionally they start to get worse. That is usually soothed with 4 sets of 4 steps. I pace 4 steps, pivot, pace 4 steps, pivot, etc. or by basically deep-cleaning my room.

Wow that actually felt, really good to talk about.

I was raised Mormon and while my parents have always been very non-traditional Mormons, I was still pretty worried when I came out as a lesbian to them. I was pretty sure they weren't going to disown me, but I was pretty sure they were going to be disappointed and that they probably wouldn't want to meet my girlfriend when I found one. I'd already come out to my older sister who'd left the church years before and was living with her boyfriend and she was cool about it, but I was super nervous about telling my parents. Turns out though, they were super cool about it. They said they'd know since I was in high school, long before I'd even suspected myself. I was in denial for a really long time. When my mom said that she'd treat anyone I decided to spend the rest of my life with like any other member of the family I bawled. My little sister I could tell was weirded out by it at first, but we've always been close and I could tell she wanted to be supportive and eventually she got more comfortable with it. My oldest sister was the most difficult. She tried to lecture me about sin and the way I was living my life, but when I explained to her it didn't make sense that I would chose to be that way and that living my life alone wasn't conducive to my being happy, she started to come around. The only member of my family I haven't told is my Grandmother. We weren't on speaking terms for years and I didn't feel like she needed to know anyways.

I came out to my mother as bisexual when I was around thirteen. In truth I was leaning more towards gay but figured bi would be a better ice breaker.
She told me it was a phase that everyone goes through and that I'd out grow it. That and it was probably because a good friend of mine at the time was bi so I guess she thought I was copying them.

In truth I grew up and even though I still struggle from time to time to understand myself I identify as both pansexual and bigendered.
It's still hard sometimes as not many people I know understand the terms and even after I explain to them they just get all quiet and change the subject.
It would be nice to get a better support system in town for at least bigendered. People are starting to get used to transgendered and gays here but they haven't quite moved on to all the other sexualities and gender identifications.

My 'coming out' has nothing to do with my sexuality and everything to do with my metal issues, lol.
About a year ago, I came out to my mom that I have been suicidal since I was 11, and have tried many times to end my life. It was the hardest thing to tell her, because my parents are the best things in my life. They have had their issues, but they've stayed together and made the best of everything. I felt so selfish, so stupid.... But she didn't call me that at all. Instead, my mom took me out to dinner, and had me tell her everything. She wasn't mean, angry, or anything. She didn't cry. She talked to me like a friend would, not berating me or anything. Ever since then.... I have been clean from cutting and attemtping suicide. I think all I needed was a best friend like my mom. I still went to therapy for a while, but everything is better now that I admitted that to her.

My coming out as being bi was an interesting one. I first came out to my (at the time) best friend who was also a girl. I came out to her cause I was kind of freaking out over a girl I liked kissing my nose. At the time I was trying to figure out if she was just goofing around or if she was actually flirting with me, so I went to my best friend and that's when I came out to her and told her "I think I like girls?"
Then I unintentionally came out to my mom one night when I was crying in the shower. I was really confused, being 14 and all, that I liked boys and girls cause in my family no one ever talked about being gay or bi so I wasn't really sure what was going on with me. When I told her I liked girls too she went straight into denial saying "Oh well it's normal to care a lot about your friends, that doesn't mean you love love them though." After that we only talked about it two more times. Once after I was crying cause I had told another friend (who was also my ex) that I liked girls and he freaked out and got kinda mad about it (after a few days he was okay with it though). I cried to my mom about it and she just very coldly went back to reading her paper and told me that I should expect that kind of reaction from people. The second time we were arguing and she told me "How would you know you liked girls anyways? You've never been with one!" But I had, and when I told her it grossed her out and she wanted full details, she wouldn't leave me alone about it till I told her how far we'd gone, and the entire time she was very obviously grossed out by it. Yea... After that I never talked about it again with her.
The next person I came out to was my oldest sister when I was 15. She seemed okay with it and I told her not to tell anyone else cause I wasn't ready for everyone to know yet. Well the next day my nephew (her oldest son who's 9 months younger than me) came to me and asked me if it was true. I was shocked he knew and asked him how he found out. After hearing my sister told him I wasn't sure if I was more upset that she told him or more upset that behind my back she was all "Psh, yea right, she's not." Luckily my nephew was okay with it though.
After those experiences I stopped telling my family about that kinda stuff and I only told really close friends that I knew would be okay with it.

For me, it's been fairly easy, because I haven't even attempted the hard stuff yet. Only my sister and one of my friends know.
One night, while my sister was over, we were just having a really deep conversation and I just kind of slipped in that I'm aromantic asexual, and she didn't really react to it. She just continued on with the conversation. She's been a constant source of support and unconditional love for me, so I knew she wouldn't mind, especially considering she's bisexual. I'm the first person she came out too, actually.
As for my friend, we were just chatting on Facebook, and I was just mentioning my disinterest in romance and sex and she just asks, "Are you asexual?" and I simply replied, "Yeah." and we continued talking.

I didn't even know what it meant to be "aromantic" or "asexual" until I was 16 and I spent all the time until 18 trying to discover if that's really how I felt. I mean, I've /never/ felt attraction as other's describe it, and even acted like I did when I was 7-8 because my sister had a crush on a boy in her grade, and I thought that liking boys was something I was supposed to be doing.
After making certain that I was, indeed, aromantic asexual, I planned to first come out to my sister, because she's the person I trust the most.
I haven't come out to my parents yet. I know my mom won't mind, because she took my sister's coming out really well, but I'm still nervous. My Dad always talks about me getting married and having kids, and I assert that I'm not interested in that, but I think he just thinks I'm just not ready to think about things like that?

I came out in the 8th grade. My mom, dad, sister and I were eating dinner.
Me: Mom, dad, I like girls.
Mom: That's nice.
Dad: So do I.
Me: I'm serious, I'm a lesbian.
Sister: Yeah, we get it, you like girls. That's cool. Now shut up and eat your dinner.

It sounds sarcastic and mean when I type it out like that but honestly, it was really easy. My family has always been supportive. The day after I came out they switched from "any boys you like" to "any girls you like" without even blinking. And now I'm gaily married. (HAH. See what I did there?!)

I came out to my Nana the next year when she came to visit for my sister's high school graduation. My girlfriend would be coming over for dinner and I wanted my Nana to know she was my girlfriend not just my girl-friend. But I was so scared I made my mom do it. So they went into the kitchen and my mom came out and I heard my Nana YELL (which was very strange) "CATHERINE ROBERTA YOU GET IN HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE!" So I'm freaking out thinking she's gonna tell me how gross I am and how she hates me and how I'm no longer her granddaughter.
Nana: Catherine, I'd like to smack you right now.
Me: I'm sorry, Nana, I can't help it I just like girls, please don't hate me.
Nana: I don't hate you. I'm just so angry that you had to send your mother in here to tell me. Why couldn't you tell me yourself? You know I love you and I support you 100%. Don't forget that not all of my relationships have been traditional.
Then she winked and walked out. I think Nana maybe was a little gay...