Would you still be you if you weren't queer?

Exactly my thoughts.

 

The experiences are unique and without them I couldn't possibly be me as experience shape the person...

 

Shit no. I'd be a completely different person. Being queer informs a lot of who I am. That said, I really like being queer, and I like who I am.

 

I'd still be me...


I'm a messy, disorganized pig and am indifferent to dressing well... in spite of being queer.

 

I'm not entirely sure. I know I wouldn't be homophobic based on my families views because they have raised me to be accepting more so my mom than my dad. From a very young age though I've taken interest in the LGBT community and even before I came out to myself found it fascinating. I watched documentaries and videos online especially about people who are transgender. This may have just been because of my feelings that I hadn't realized yet, but maybe not.

 

I would still be the same person. I guess in my head, being queer doesn't make me who I am. Its seperate to me. I just happen to love another male. I would still be me if I love a womam. If that makes sense.

 

no, i don't think so. it's easy to take things for granted when you're not struggling, and although i don't think i've struggled particularly hard compared to others i do think that if i'd never felt like a weirdo then i wouldn't be who i am today. and i like who i am, so i wouldn't want to be unqueer.

 

Honestly, I think I would be a jerk if I wasn't gay. Please don't take this as narcissistic, but a friend of mine recently started pointing out how often I get hit on by men, and how many of my guy friends have a thing for me. I've been 100% oblivious to these things my whole life. I think that if I was straight and had all of these men available to me whenever, I would have become a very shallow, callous person. I was a pretty self absorbed, superficial teenager so I'm sure it would have just grown from there.

I dated a woman who was actually straight and she could have any man she wanted (and she does). She's gorgeous and would use you until she finds better because she knows she can. I always thought I could have ended up like her if I was straight.

 

I would totally be a bigot

 

I am who I am either way but....

my experiences through all of this have made me question what I stand for and who I am at an extreme level. I think I would be very biased against LGBTQ people if I were straight and hadn't walked in their shoes and that would be simply a terrible shame because I've discovered how amazing the community really is.

However, it's also caused me a great deal of suffering in love to be this way, and self torture so it has probably aged and changed me significantly. I'd say yes as it has sculpted me into who I am because I know now I can love myself even when before I thought if I were a lezzie it would be the worst thing to happen to me.

 

To expand on what I wrote earlier,

Realizing that I am a member of the LGBT community had majorly affected my life. I went from being a homophobic person to an accepting person. Realizing how messed up my stance on LGBT people was at that time, it made me look at my life and think really hard about what I believed.

I went through most of my high school years while I was depressed because I could not accept who I was. It was the middle part of my senior year before I started to accept who I was. Shortly after that, I realized that I no longer believed in the Christian faith. I realized that I was an atheist.

So, I ended up losing my faith, some of my "so called" friends, my leadership position (I was the youth group director..) and I almost lost some members of my extended family.

I feel that without the internal struggle that came from me realizing that I am gay, I would still be a member of a homophobic church. I would still be preaching hate. I never would've looked at my beliefs. I wouldn't have had a reason to (at that time).

I also feel that I would not have as much confidence in myself as I do now. If you would've told me that I would be working as a director in a college news station a couple of years ago, I would've laughed in your face. This is because I used to be quiet. I would hide in corners and try to talk to a few people as possible. I knew that I was different, so I didn't want to trouble people with my existence. I now am a pretty social person. I don't feel the need to hide in corners anymore.

 

No I wouldn't be me if I wasn't gay. It's shaped me into who I am today so there's no way I could be the same if I was straight.

 

Point blank, I know some people will argue that they would still be the same essential "them" if they weren't gay, but I don't think that's true for most of us. You can argue nurture vs. nature all day long, but in the end, your environment definitely shapes you. You might have tendencies to be what you are, but who knows what way those might have gone if you'd had a different environment?

I, for one, know I probably wouldn't have escaped gay issues even if I hadn't realized my own pansexuality. My little brother is gay, and I started really taking a look at homosexuality because I watched this anime with gay people in it and saw that being gay wasn't the focus of everything, but rather, just another way to love people. Coupled with that, I learned one of my closer friends was gay, and it kind of debunked this myth my Christian upbringing had taught me that gay people are weird and wrong. But would I have latched onto that and wanted to believe it was normal if I hadn't felt myself drawn to it because of my own inner feelings? Who knows!

Whatever the percentage of me is that I can attribute to being part of this whole LGBT shindig, I'm glad for it. I really like how I've turned out. I'm strong. I wouldn't trade any of the hardship I've endured for the world, because I have friends who haven't had to struggle with financial hardship or personal turmoil the way I have, and they can't handle the shit I can. No thanks!

 

Probably wouldn't be half as reserved and paranoid, but other than that, I'd still be the same aloof nerd.

If I had the choice, btw, I would say gay. Being in a relationship would be hard enough without having to try to understand someone with a whole different set of circuitry. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but women are impossible for me to understand.

 

My personality is still my personality.
When, or if I ever fully come out, I'm not changing as a person.
If you are asking I'm I like this because of my sexuality, I doubt it. I'd be the same if I was straight.

 

Yes I feel like at the core I would still be the same person. I didn't realize I was gay until 2 years ago and I still feel essentially the same (well except I'm slightly more jaded and depressed now) Being gay isn't really a giant part of who I am. I was always accepting of lgbt people despite growing up in a homophobic family and I've always been sympathetic probably because I've always been an outcast for other reasons not related to being gay. I do think however, that if I were straight, I would probably feel a lot more confident and happier with myself and that would be the only major difference.

 

Looks to me more like 60-40.

 

most definitely. i don't dictate my life around my characteristics that i can't change. i don't limit myself either. just because i'm gay doesn't mean that i'm not going to like rap music, going to stop watching certain tv shows or whatever. even if i was straight, i think that i would be the same way. i think that being gay actually made me not do certain things or held me back.

 

oh, well then, i can't say that i would be the 'me' i am today if i was straight. i'd say i'd be kind of similar to thecat06's post, minus people i know knowing.