Hello and thank you for having such an incredible community here. I am a cis male (maybe?) in my mid-late 30's, married to a cis female with a child. But here I am, finally admitting what I always knew to be true: I am gay and *may* have some gender identity confusion (but one thing at a time). It may not be a verbal, face-to-face admission, but it is so important to my mental health to keep saying this even to myself and friendly internet strangers. I have always known this about myself. I have done an adequate job hiding it from others but you cannot hide from yourself, I suppose. But why now? I recently had the opportunity to go out with a friend to a local gay bar. It was on the more "wild" side and I wasn't there to hook up or anything like that. It was just supposed to be a fun night out. And it stayed that way. But my friend, who knows about my "questioning", thought it may be helpful to see how I felt in such a situation. Initially I was nervous and felt a little out of place. But soon I felt incredibly at-ease and the minute the bartender called me "sweetheart", I melted and knew I belonged. It was the "moment". So here I am now, figuring out how to work through what is going to be a difficult situation. I fear I could just bottle this up and live out my days in an inauthentic way. But I don't want to. This is my first step. Finding a community. So I just wanted to say hello and I look forward to getting to know you all.
Hi welcome to the EC family I came out to my friends and family as Bisexual 4 years ago and still consider myself a baby bi and still learning and navigating my way around the community.
DUPAC.....Hello and a great big LGBTQIA+ welcome to Empty Closets! I can remember the first post that I made on EC. I was desperate for help and I got the help that night that I so needed. I hope that we can help you in the same way that I received help. The most important thing to remember about Empty Closets is that we do care about you! We're very glad that you found us here on EC and hope that we can answer questions, give you support and provide a place to vent (as long as it's not violent!) when that becomes necessary! *****There are 18 different sub-forums here that you can check out and join in the conversations or start your own thread/conversation. In particular you may want to check out the forum that is titled "Sexual Orientation”, there are people there who have dealt with some of the same kind of issues that could be challenging you. I can remember the first time that I went to a gay bar. WOW! what an experience! It was a Drag Queen show that night and I had never seen a Drag Queen! I sure got my eyes opened...but after a while I got into the mood of the night and actually had a great time. I had only just accepted that I was and always had been gay and that night was quite an introduction to my new found gay world! *****When you have made at least 10 posts on various threads you will be able to post messages on a member's Profile Page. Just click on a member's Avatar Picture and then click on "Profile Page" in the dialogue box that pops up. You'll then be on their Profile Page and there will be a box that says: "Write Something" When you have been on EC for a few weeks and have made at least 50 posts on various forums, you can apply for Full Membership. A Full Member can send Private Messages (PM) to other Full Members and share personal contact info. Right now you can only send a PM to a Staff Member as that is always possible. Here is a quote from the Full Membership information forum: *****To be eligible you must be a member of Empty Closets for a minimum of two weeks, and have a minimum of 50 posts. These posts must be across numerous forums (Fun & Games does not contribute to post count), and consistently posted across a minimum of two weeks. You wouldn't be eligible, for example, if you registered, had no activity for two weeks, and then returned to post 50 times on your 14th day of membership. *****Well, as I said, we're very glad you found us! If you have any questions at all, you can send me a Private Message. .....David
