Im a junior in high school and I really want to come out to my friends (mostly straight girls) but I’m not sure if they would be weirded out and treat me differently than before?? Im really not sure if this is just me overthinking and preparing for the worst case scenario. I would appreciate anything y’all have to say, especially if you’ve felt like this before too. How did your same-sex friends react to you coming out?
It depends on your friends. If your friends are basically open-minded then the basic reaction is usually "oh ok". If they have problems with it or are immature the reaction can be bad. I could not come out when I was in school, it was the 1970s and my parents would have thrown me out if I had. More recently my friends have been either "oh ok" or "yeah, me too". If anyone were to react badly I would just stop being around them.
You could always tack on to the end of your coming out, “If you know of any other nice lesbians, let me know!”
You said your friends are mostly straight girls: Is this to say you have other friends that fall somewhere within the LGBTQ+? Because if you know anyone else like that, then maybe try coming out to them first. It's a good way to ease into it, I think, and maybe they can help you tackle coming out to the others. If you don't have any LGBTQ+ friends that you're aware of, I'd take it on an individual basis. You don't have to answer here, but things to consider would be: Which friend(s) are you closest to? Is there one particular friend in your group who is good at keeping a secret? Are any of your friends prone to talking about each other behind one another's backs, or are they generally honest and friendly? Have topics like this come up before, and if they have, how did your friends act/react? I'm not suggesting never coming out if they've been weirded out by things like this before, but more that taking it slow and "reading the room" as they say might make it easier for you to determine who is safe to tell, who isn't, or when to time it.
I'm also in high school and dealt with a similar problem. Overall, there were a few of my friends who thought that I had a crush on them, which was kind of annoying, but then I made up a crush that was out of school, so they didn't think that anymore. If you live in a Republican state, (I'm assuming you live in America) then it would be harder, but if you live in a liberal or fairly liberal state, it should be easier. Basically, there will be one or two people who either think you like them or are homophobic, but almost always your best firends will have back! Besides, if someone doesn't accept you, then they weren't a good friend in the first place.
