Despite what some people want you to believe, people don’t choose whether or not they are gay. You either are, or you aren’t. Period.
And these AskReddit users went on the record to share the exact moments when they knew the truth.
Do you want to share your own personal story? Do it in the comments!
#1. Wait a second…
“The moment I, a male, thought “Damn, why are all the hot guys gay?” followed immediately by “Wait, what?”
#2. Oh, maybe…
“In sixth grade, my teacher made an announcement after people had been making poor taste gay jokes. He said, “There’s a high change that one of you in here is gay, and you probably don’t know it. it might be you, so shut up” and in that moment i was like “lmfao ya ok sure i’d know if i was gay” and then two years later i was crankin it to a guy and after a while of doing that i was like “oh, maybe I am gay.” “
#3. The crush
“I never had any crushes or interest in anything romantic until quite a few years after my sister and stepsister did (13 months and 22 months younger than me, respectively). Then, when I finally developed a crush, it was on a girl. Suppressed it for years after my crush rejected me, so hard even I, myself, believed it was untrue, until I got drunk around a campfire with my best friend and ended up making out with her all night.
My best friend and I have now been married for 5 months ?.”
#4. That’ll do it
“When I realized I fell in love with my best friend. Also we were both on the football team and we shared a locker…”
#5. It clicked
“I liked beast boy AND raven from teen titans. it clicked when i realized.”
#6. That ass changed it all
“My best friend, who grew up as a good Irish Catholic schoolgirl, was walking behind a woman in an airport in the most amazing yellow dress. Just going on and on in her head about how beautifully it flowed, how it curved, how it settled on… After minutes of this, she realised that actually she was just staring at That Ass. It was an amazing ass.
“Oh shit!” She thought, as she realised, looking back down her life: “Every time I’ve admired another woman’s clothes… I’ve totally been admiring them.”
So, yeah. That Ass changed her life.”
#7. All the lesbians
“I’m so embarrassed but it was while watching that absolutely grim show ‘A shot at love with Tila Tequila’ on MTV.
I was an 18yr old girl, had never met a gay person (that I knew about) in real life, and BOOM I loved all those lesbians on the show.
Dani the firefighter, thanks for all the feelings.
Can’t believe it’s a shout out to Tila Tequila for her dumb show.”
#8. On a mission
“When I was a Mormon missionary in Eastern Europe. The other missionaries were tempted by the pretty girls and lingerie ads, and I was tempted by the other missionaries.”
#9. It’s not you! I’M GAY!
“The “hot” girl on college campus that my friends all wanted but she wanted me. I was questioning if I was gay and found guys attractive but never told anyone. I thought I just needed to have sex with a girl to prove I wasn’t gay. Went back to her room, making out, get her undressed, decide to just “go for it” and with my face literally inches from her lower lady bits I say out loud…
“I’M GAY! Sorry, it’s not you. I’m gay. Really gay!” She was pissed and confused. I got dressed and went back to my buddy’s dorm. I told him I was gay. He was shocked but supportive and happy he “has a chance with her now”. “
#10. What does that mean?
“I was at summer camp, between 7th and 8th grade. I’d made a new friend and we were talking about stuff, getting to know each other. He made an offhand comment about one of his friends who was bisexual. I was like, “What does that mean?”
I’d never even heard of the concept before then. It had never even crossed my mind that people could be romantically interested in the same sex. So he tells me what it means to be gay and bisexual. I think to myself, “Huh. Am I? I didn’t know I could be like that. Maybe I am.” Spoiler alert: I was.”
#11. OBSESSED
“Lesbian here.
When I was around 5 my brother brought home his first girlfriend. He was fifteen & she was sixteen.
I remember being OBSESSED with her. Her name was Tara & she had long brown hair & would compliment my drawings. She gave me a teddy bear & I still have it to this day. Looking back, I had a huuuuge crush on her.”
#12. It just hit me
“One of my gay friends was telling me how he realised he was gay and I found myself relating to everything he was saying. Before that, I thought I was asexual. I knew I wasn’t into girls but had never really seriously contemplated whether or not I was into guys, perhaps because I was afraid of the conclusion I’d reach, so I just settled on thinking I was asexual.
In hindsight, I’d always been into guys, I just misinterpreted all my feeling of attraction as feelings of jealousy. I’d see a hot guy and tell myself that I really wanted to look like him and that that was why I couldn’t stop staring. It made sense at the time, even though it sounds absurd in retrospect.
During that conversation, the realisation that I had been in denial for years just hit me and I knew I was gay.”
#13. “I fall hard”
“I never knew until I started to develop feelings for my best friend. We had been close since middle school, but around 8th or 9th grade I started feeling attracted to her. Of course, since we both came from Christian backgrounds, I tried to deny it, and I even made up stories about liking guys just to seem straight in front of my peers. But when those feelings wouldn’t go away, my mind was just like. “F*ck.”
Before then I had never had any real crushes on anyone in my school, and I thought that romance was sappy and not worth my time. I still kinda feel that way today, but I realized from this incident that when I fall for a girl, I fall hard.”
#14. Yep
“I was like 12 or 13. I watched the movie “But I’m A Cheerleader” because it was on tv late one night and I was like, yep, I’m gay.”
#15. An entire lesbian
“I was 12 years old. I was watching the movie Practical Magic for the umpteenth time. Sandra Bullock did something particularly attractive, and it clicked in my brain and suddenly I just knew.
I’d been wondering for a little while, after a (female) friend of mine did something unintentionally suggestive and I had a really strong reaction, but it was that particular viewing of Practical Magic that took me from “is it possible I’m gay?” to “Wow I am an entire lesbian.”
