How to deal with the fear of people knowing I'm not straight?
Hi sorry, I'm pretty new to reddit, I just need some advice if anyone can help.
I (17f) am like, 99% sure I'm bisexual. The idea of being with either a man or a woman is fine in my head, but I feel so uncomfortable at the idea of saying it aloud and admitting I'm not straight. I'm an over-thinker by nature, and I know there's probably some internalised homophobia there, but I'm still kind of scared that people could find out. The thing is though, it's ridiculous that I'm afraid. My best friend (16f) is gay, two girls in my new friend group, three in my old group, one I had science with, one in english class, and a few at my extracurriculars too (some of them are bi or pan). And no one is rude or insulting about it either, they all just get on with their lives.
It's also my parents reaction that scares me to some degree after hearing the 'horror stories' of people who weren't accepted. They used to brush 'gay things' off or joke about it, but recently they seem really tolerant towards it all. There's also a guy at my school who is trans (all girls school btw) and they didn't bat an eye. It makes me think I'm being ridiculous for no reason, but I still feel so suffocated at the idea that I might not be normal. And when I say that, yes, I'm aware I sound awful. It's weird because I don't think LGBTQ+ people are 'not normal', just that if I was, I wouldn't be.
So basically, I just have no idea how to shake this fear. I overcompensate for it a lot by saying how much I want a boyfriend, but I also would love to be with a girl and love her. I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic at heart, but have never been in a relationship. I don't know if I could be in a queer relationship though even though I want to, because that would mean admitting it to the world in a way, and I couldn't take it back after that if I had to? I don't know if that makes sense. Also, bit off-topic, but the label 'bisexual' doesn't sit right with me either. I mean, it's right in terms of that's how I feel, but I just don't want the association as bad as that sounds. Yes, again, I know that's a pretty shitty thing to say.
So please, if you have any advice on how to stop being so judgemental and scared, I'd appreciate that more than you'd know; I just need peace of mind. And apologies for anything in this post that was unintentionally unkind or insulting to anyone – please tell me so I don't say it again. Thank you all so much.
Posted Jan 14, 2026, 12:08 AM UTC