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If you were a member of the LGBTQ community in previous decades, you likely went through immense difficulty accepting your own identity, let alone telling other people about it. Back then, homosexuality was largely frowned upon, and coming out was often met with negativity.
Nowadays, society is generally more accepting and less judgmental. It is likely why many people are more at ease opening up about their true selves.
Some of them shared their pleasant experiences in this Reddit thread, and here are some of the most popular replies.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I've only came out to my aunt. It was a family trip, we were locked in one of the bedrooms and I couldn't even get the "I'm a lesbian" out of my mouth. It was something like:
"Come on, what is it?"
- I can't say it out loud.
"Is it something about your mom?"
- No.
"Is it something about you?"
- Yes.
Then she started guessing it until she asked if I liked girls and I nodded. After that we started talking about a lot of things. My fears, my female crushes, my future... in the middle of that she said "I'd never love you less for being who you are, quite the opposite: I'll love you 300× more to make it up for the lack of love you'll get from the rest of the world."
I have the best auntie ever :).
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#2
I told my older brother and his wife I was gay. Long story short, his wife saw I was feeling depressed and said "don't worry we don't think you're weird." Then my brother said "well, you're still weird but not because you're gay.".
#3
When I came out to my dad as bisexual and he said he knew it because I was using both pc and mac. Love him.
#4
My family is homophobic and my dad accidentally found out I had a girlfriend, so to make me look bad he outed me to my 9 year old half brother that was surrounded by and raised around hate and bigotry. I thought this was gonna be the end of our relationship, but my brother instead got mad at me for not telling him sooner since he found and saved a lot of memes about having a gay sibling or a sibling that was dating and basically went off on my father for outing me. I will forever remember that ❤️.
#5
I came out as trans a few months ago and my parents bought me a bunch of stuff with the trans flag and my new name all over it to affirm my gender. I love them so much.
#6
I was sitting a few feet behind my brother and was watching him play a video game. He said "you're gay" and I just said "Yep." He turned around and stared at me for a few seconds then said "Ok", then turned around and continued playing his game.
#7
My cousin straight up said to me "Do you like men?" Half joking while we were playing a game after he noticed I had a pride cosmetic on my character, which he immediately noticed.
I panicked as usually I take off the cosmetics before playing with him, so I stuttered and before i could get a word out he just said "I don't really care bro, marry a man for all I care, so long as there is good food at the wedding, its a bit gay though." (Joking on the last part)
Then I told him and he said " Right, now we have that out of your system will you please focus on the game, you're playing terribly." To be honest, with the relationship I have with him and being as close as we are, that was the best way he could have ever handled it, despite how it sounds like.
He is very weird, and has a very odd way with his words, but that's why he's my best friend.
#8
I was asked to tell my cousin after she came home from school asking what "gay" means. She was in 1st grade, so I described it in terms of love and family. When I broke the news that I am gay, she got the biggest look of fear in her eyes and was on the verge of crying: "Did you go get married and not invite me?".
#9
Told my partner I loved being his girlfriend but I really wanted to be his boyfriend. He said "Hey I wouldn't mind a boyfriend!"
He's bi 😊.
#10
“We knew”
“Really?!?! HOW?!?!?”
“Dude...you were watching girls’ a**es more than we did”
“I...fair enough”.
#11
I live in a country where being gay is not very accepted by the society, but when I came out to one of my more recent friends(who I thought was very open minded and she was), she basically thanked me for trusting her enough to tell her and came back out to me!! I couldn't have been more happier!!
#12
When I came out as trans to my 62 year old father he said something along the lines of “I won’t pretend I know much about any of this or that I fully understand, but I love you no matter what. I know you wouldn’t be doing this unless you were certain it’s what you wanted to do. Besides I always kind of suspected something, I just wasn’t sure exactly what.”
That was in summer. When I talked with him over Christmas I suspected he may be doing some lite research on his own. I was able to talk to him about what’s happening with my transition and how things are going without it feeling even slightly awkward.
#13
When I (F, Bi) came out to my dad, I effectively said,
"Hey, so... There's no great way to say this but I also like girls."
Without looking up from what he was cooking, he said,
"Huh. Me too!"
And after a short pause,
"The real question is... Why would you like men?"
I laughed my butt off :)
My parents have both been super supportive and I'm incredibly grateful for them.
#14
I was terrified to come out to my Nana, Bampi and uncle because my grandparents are fairly old and my uncle is very Christian, but they were super supportive and my uncle basically said "There's no rule on changing your body because your body and soul aren't the same, no matter what you are you're still you and that's what matters" so :] that was pretty good. more supportive than my parents initially were, had a cool medical conversation with my Nana about it afterwards but yeah, I'm just glad.
#15
This isn’t my big coming out story to my parents or siblings, all who just said cool, but a smaller coming out story. A kid I babysat/nannied for once out of the blue asked me if I was bisexual. I told him I was and asked why he was asking/how he knew. He said, “yeah that makes sense, bisexuals all dress really cool and you have very cool style.” I was so happy that that was the stereotype 11 year old kids were learning about bisexual people.
#16
The best reaction I have gotten was from my cardiac service dog, when I told him he licked my face and lied on my lap. He is a very open minded pup 😅.
#17
‘Can I call you Santa Claus then’
‘Wh- why?’
‘Because you’re a jolly gay man’.
#18
When I told my father I was bi he just said "Have fun in every way" which can be interpreted in my language as "Have fun in (whichever) relationship".
#19
I came out to my sister and she freaked out (in a good way) because she had been planning on coming out to me as bisexual that same night.
Lila Allen 2 weeks ago
Aww that is so wholesome and sweet. You can share a coming out anniversary.
#20
I drunkenly blurted out to my family that I'm bi on Christmas day a few years back. My mum's reaction was to say 'I can't wait until you go to a pride event, so I can tell your grandad'. For context, my grandad on my dad's side is quite homophobic, which annoys both me and my mum, so we like to wind him up by defending whatever lgbtqia issue he's complaining about this time. He doesn't know I'm bi. I'm fully on board with my mum's plan.
#21
Guy I know at college started kind of hitting on me. In my head I was like “ohhh here we go “. I took a deep breath and told him I was ace. Turns out his sister is ace. He backed off, and started asking respectful questions. From discussing my asexuality we moved into talking about dating and being single in general. He still acts a little flirty with me from time to time and I find him kind of annoying , but I was pleasantly surprised at how respectful and kind he was when I came out to him.
BookFanatic 2 weeks ago
NICE! As a fellow ace, I'm so happy the guy was respectful. Usually I get the "I could change your mind" or "you just haven't had good d**k yet." Gross.
#23
I have so many.
My first coming out was to a new family doctor. She was reading through my file, asked about my depression. I gave the usual reasons, lousy job, few friends, then because I was incredibly sleep deprived I blurted out gender dysphoria, realized what I said, and had a panic attack so hard I passed out. When I recovered her response was just "okay then, I'm putting you on all three psychiatrist referral lists." and that was the moment I decided I was going to transition.
I came out to my closest friend a few hours later, while I was still a nervous wreck from realizing I was finally doing this after twenty plus years of wanting it, and when I finally told him he laughed, "Wait, that's it? I was worried it was something serious!" and gave me so much comfort.
---
When I came out to my brother, he was super quiet to the point where it scared me, then whispered "Well... That explains... A Lot." And gave me rare hugs. He's the best, even if he lives 3 hours away I feel closer to him than I have in a decade.
First few times I tried to talk to mum about being trans, I got laughed at and rediculed.
At this point, pretty much everyone but my dad knows. When I get an endocrinologist appointment, I ask my brother to drive me over. From what I pieced together later, brother told mum that I was going with him to the endo, she misunderstood and thought the appointment was for him, and so told dad about it, then he goes and asks brother what's going on. Brother explains that he should be asking me, so late at night when I'm already preparing to go to bed, dad barges in and goes "SO WHAT'S AN ENDOCRINOLOGIST?" scaring me half to death. By all the fortunes of the world, he actually accepted me begging not to talk about it now and backed off before I completely melted down. I then spent an all-nighter writing an elaborate letter to him about my dysphoria, my new name and pronouns, and that I'm transitioning even if it means being disowned because not transitioning has been k*****g me. He takes the letter I left on his desk and vanishes that morning on a week long business trip with no contact, leaving me a nervous wreck. When he gets back, his only remark is that's okay, do what makes you happy.
Rather ironic and that's the complete opposite of what I had expected from parents and brother, considering how as a kid, Mum constantly threatened to braid my hair or paint my nails if I didn't keep them short and regularly griped that I should have been a girl, while dad was always complaining how I had none of the usual guy interests, and me and brother were constantly pushed into an incredibly adversarial relationship because of the toxic levels of 'fairness' parents enforced, eg. not being able to go out with friends alone if brother didn't have his own thing to do, or have my own computer until they thought he was ready.
---
When I was still only occasionally girlmode in private, about 6 months on HRT, mum's friend came over without warning and found me making lunch in a skirt and nail polish, and considering she's a church leader originally from Texas, I was terrified, but held my cool when she said "that's a new outfit." and I managed to get out that yes, it's new because I'm transitioning, please call me Samantha. She was extremely accepting, and the only thing she asked was if I should be called it just when dressed up like that, or all the time, and I explained always, it's a brain thing, not a clothing thing.
And that was the day I went full time girl mode.
#24
My mom said "thats fine, honey." And everything proceeded to be fine.
#25
“So long as you’re happy, I’m happy… you gotta admit, it’s kinda weird though… I mean, BOTH of you?!”
“Yep, both of us.”
“So what do I call you now? And are we still gonna play video games together? And watch Mandalorian and stuff?”
“Yep.”
“Okay!”
My husband and I both came out as trans (in my defense, he started it!) and we have a young teen. Our kid is amused but happy for us. I’m now mom, my husband is now dad, and things are good. We were worried it would be hard on our kid, but we spent far more time preparing than our kid did adjusting. We’ve been attentive to any concerns, but so far our kid is happy and moving right along in life.
#26
My dad lmao very recently asked if I was a lesbian (I previously said bi few years ago but he noticed I clearly don’t like men) and was like OMG we got a family lesbian 🥳🥳🤩🥳🥳 with a big smile.
#27
I told my brother who is 3 years under me that I was bi and his response was "okay. And? What do you want me to do about it?" Which confused me enough to stop the stress of telling him. I still laugh thinking about it.
I told the younger boys (also my brothers) that I also liked women once they got a little bit older and the younger one who was 12 at the time said "that's gay" and then high fived the older one who was 14 and I just rolled eyes and asked if they had any questions lol.
So you know. Brothers are always interesting.
I did the same thing to my step sister though when she came out as bi. I yelled "same" and high fived her lol. It made her laugh and hopefully stopped her stressing so much.
#28
When I came out as lesbian to my dad (didn't know I was actually trans back then):
sent him ''girls'' by girl in red while sitting in the same room
''What are you saying with that?''
''I like girls''
''Ok.... Do the girls like you back?''
''I hope so xd''.
#29
My brother said "ok, so we both have the same opinion on b***s. nice." and now he's started sending pics of anime waifus and asking me to rate them 1-10.
Auntriarch 2 weeks ago (edited)
I was looking over the balcony at a concert and noticed a lady on the ground floor with a dizzyingly low neckline, I said goodness me she's putting a lot of faith in her underwiring, and the eyeballs of both Mr Auntriarch and my lesbian friend swivelled thuswards...
#30
In my friend group we never had to come out, we just *are*. I have a friend that is, like, super bi, and I am too, but we never had to *come out*, we would just talk about a girl, or a guy, or a non-binary pal and that's it, no one questions it.
I've heard it's kind of a dream for some people here haha, and I really love them for that. I guess the new generations are more accepting now a days.
Poll Question
Why do more people feel comfortable coming out today?
Societal acceptance
Legal protections
Media representation
Online communities
What do you think ?
R Dennis 2 weeks ago
I don't think I was good when someone tried to tell me. They worked for me and I knew they were gay for well over a year. It made no difference to me, they were a good worker and had a good attitude. When they finally decided to tell me during a shift, in hindsight, I think they wanted me to be surprised and respond. Instead, I said "Yeah." and they stopped and looked at me. I then said "I've known for a while. I still need that order!" We were always cool with each other and were until I left. I really thought that by treating them no different than anyone else, I was doing the right thing. Years later, I thought about how difficult it must have been and that by not acknowledging that, I didn't give them what they might have wanted/needed. I still think about that...
CrazyAuntiePanda 1 week ago
You did good, I had the same reaction to a teen friend who came to me & he was so glad nothing changed between us
Load More Replies...
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 weeks ago
I feel like your reaction should depend on how they tell you and their general personality. I hope they understood your reaction and appreciated it ♥️
BookFanatic 2 weeks ago
My favorite "coming out" story was when my bi friend came out to me. We were randomly assigned college roomies, and the first night we were putting on our pajamas and she said "I think I should tell you...I'm bi." So there I was, standing in my bra, and so sheltered that I said "By? By the table? By the bed?" I've never seen a person laugh so hard.
QijianSanek 2 weeks ago
you can be 99% attracted to males and 1% to females. You are still just as bi as anyone else.
Load More Replies... 
Sky Render 2 weeks ago
My wife got quite the shock when she came out as trans: both of her sisters, her best friend (that's me!), and my mom all told her "yeah, we knew that". For a while she was jokingly asking us "The WHOLE TIME!?"
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 weeks ago
This honestly made me feel a lot less scared of the world
MentallyUnstable27 1 week ago
when i came out as bi to my mom, she tried to persuade me that no, i wasnt. i ignored her and when i told my dad i think he was honestly mostly just confused lol. but hes been more accepting than my brother and mom, who both act like its an extremely innappropriate subject and that it brings shame. they do love me anyways i guess, theyre just not super supportive. when i came out to my younger brother, he was so excited because he also turned out to be bi. still havent told my youngest brother. when i told my best friend, she was like "ohhhhh that makes a LOT of sense"
Donna Peluda 2 weeks ago
I (m56)have a close friend, (f54) who is a lesbian. She comes from a very traditional family. She lives far away from her family and they think her girlfriend is her flatmate. We had organized a suprise 50th birthday party for her but her brother's and sisters diceded to suprise her. It was so sad because her girlfriend couldn't sit next to her on her birthday like any couple that is in love. So sad that she can't be herself with her family.
The Doom Song 2 weeks ago
My friend came out to his family on Christmas day when he was a teenager (going back like 20 years) They were all at the table eating Christmas lunch and he was like " so guys I'm gay" His dad looked at him and replied "yeah we know" and the whole family went back to lunch like nothing happened
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
When I was a teen, my mother made it very clear to me that my being gay would not make her love or value me one bit less. I happen to be straight, but good to know, Mom!
K Madden 1 week ago
I'll never forget coming out to my mother. I told her I was telling her that day because my (angry, hurt) husband at the time threatened to tell my folks and I wanted to tell them before he did. I just remember her saying, "Did you think we wouldn't love you anymore?" Then she said, "And he's an A*****E!" I started laughing, she laughed and we had coffee. Done. Oh yeah, we got divorced, and after 30 years, good friends now.
Bethany Francis 1 week ago
These remind me of the time my friend came out to me. He told me he was gay, and I said yeah I know. He asked me how, I replied Darling I've known that you were gay from the first day I met you. When my sister came out at 15, my parents (mostly mum) reacted badly. She got a 2 hour lecture bible and all, lots of tears etc. I was stuck in my room the whole time this was happening bored out of my brains. After they were done, my sister came into my room still upset and said she needed to tell me something. She came out to me and being 14 at the time my reaction was to reply "And?? You're still my sister." Honestly the look of relief on her face when I said that spoke volumes to me, but I really didn't care because she was still the same person as before just she liked girls not boys.
R Dennis 2 weeks ago
I don't think I was good when someone tried to tell me. They worked for me and I knew they were gay for well over a year. It made no difference to me, they were a good worker and had a good attitude. When they finally decided to tell me during a shift, in hindsight, I think they wanted me to be surprised and respond. Instead, I said "Yeah." and they stopped and looked at me. I then said "I've known for a while. I still need that order!" We were always cool with each other and were until I left. I really thought that by treating them no different than anyone else, I was doing the right thing. Years later, I thought about how difficult it must have been and that by not acknowledging that, I didn't give them what they might have wanted/needed. I still think about that...
CrazyAuntiePanda 1 week ago
You did good, I had the same reaction to a teen friend who came to me & he was so glad nothing changed between us
Load More Replies... Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 weeks ago
I feel like your reaction should depend on how they tell you and their general personality. I hope they understood your reaction and appreciated it ♥️
BookFanatic 2 weeks ago
My favorite "coming out" story was when my bi friend came out to me. We were randomly assigned college roomies, and the first night we were putting on our pajamas and she said "I think I should tell you...I'm bi." So there I was, standing in my bra, and so sheltered that I said "By? By the table? By the bed?" I've never seen a person laugh so hard.
QijianSanek 2 weeks ago
you can be 99% attracted to males and 1% to females. You are still just as bi as anyone else.
Load More Replies... Sky Render 2 weeks ago
My wife got quite the shock when she came out as trans: both of her sisters, her best friend (that's me!), and my mom all told her "yeah, we knew that". For a while she was jokingly asking us "The WHOLE TIME!?"
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 weeks ago
This honestly made me feel a lot less scared of the world
MentallyUnstable27 1 week ago
when i came out as bi to my mom, she tried to persuade me that no, i wasnt. i ignored her and when i told my dad i think he was honestly mostly just confused lol. but hes been more accepting than my brother and mom, who both act like its an extremely innappropriate subject and that it brings shame. they do love me anyways i guess, theyre just not super supportive. when i came out to my younger brother, he was so excited because he also turned out to be bi. still havent told my youngest brother. when i told my best friend, she was like "ohhhhh that makes a LOT of sense"
Donna Peluda 2 weeks ago
I (m56)have a close friend, (f54) who is a lesbian. She comes from a very traditional family. She lives far away from her family and they think her girlfriend is her flatmate. We had organized a suprise 50th birthday party for her but her brother's and sisters diceded to suprise her. It was so sad because her girlfriend couldn't sit next to her on her birthday like any couple that is in love. So sad that she can't be herself with her family.
The Doom Song 2 weeks ago
My friend came out to his family on Christmas day when he was a teenager (going back like 20 years) They were all at the table eating Christmas lunch and he was like " so guys I'm gay" His dad looked at him and replied "yeah we know" and the whole family went back to lunch like nothing happened
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
When I was a teen, my mother made it very clear to me that my being gay would not make her love or value me one bit less. I happen to be straight, but good to know, Mom!
K Madden 1 week ago
I'll never forget coming out to my mother. I told her I was telling her that day because my (angry, hurt) husband at the time threatened to tell my folks and I wanted to tell them before he did. I just remember her saying, "Did you think we wouldn't love you anymore?" Then she said, "And he's an A*****E!" I started laughing, she laughed and we had coffee. Done. Oh yeah, we got divorced, and after 30 years, good friends now.
Bethany Francis 1 week ago
These remind me of the time my friend came out to me. He told me he was gay, and I said yeah I know. He asked me how, I replied Darling I've known that you were gay from the first day I met you. When my sister came out at 15, my parents (mostly mum) reacted badly. She got a 2 hour lecture bible and all, lots of tears etc. I was stuck in my room the whole time this was happening bored out of my brains. After they were done, my sister came into my room still upset and said she needed to tell me something. She came out to me and being 14 at the time my reaction was to reply "And?? You're still my sister." Honestly the look of relief on her face when I said that spoke volumes to me, but I really didn't care because she was still the same person as before just she liked girls not boys.
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