If you are gay, it is evident that for you, a predominant challenge is to tell your parents about your sexual preference and inhibitions. You may spend a considerable time figuring the correct or incorrect ways to break the ice on this subject, but you are less likely to settle down on one. In sexual and relationship experts’ opinion, it is best to keep things straight because you cannot control their firsthand reactions – be it of acceptance or denial! They also suggest some steps which can aid you with the right material to start off and get the message across clearly! Read on.
Step 1: You know what you want to say and therefore wisely decide a time that is most apt for this communication, whether you want to share this ‘information’ in a family gathering or are better off in telling every family member separately. This being your family, you know everybody’s temperament and convenience level – use this knowledge to speak up your mind.
Step 2: Think about at least one person in the family who can easily accept your gay interest and has high acceptability to it. You can dependably share the fact with this person that you are gay. Keep things straight without making him or her do the guesswork. Don’t be apologetic about your feelings. If he or she responds favorably, ask for helping you in sharing this with other family members.
Step 3: If you are comfortable announcing it once and for all, in front of the entire family, do it straightforward.
Step 4: Make sure your communication is concise, clear, and without any dash of wit or joke in it. Whether sharing it with a single family member or whole family. Remember, when your body language is comfortable and you are confident, your family too will be confident and can take it positively.
Step 5: Don’t underestimate the fact that you got to be very specific about your sexual orientation. Be clear about what you are – gay, bisexual, transgender, or what? These are the terms that must concisely exist in your communication or announcement to the family. Also, you got to recheck if they, particularly the senior members who might be new to these terms, have understood your ‘declaration’ entirely.
Step 6: Despite cautiously sending your message across and including all the requisite terms correctly, you must expect mixed views about your announcement of being gay. Some members might easily accept the communication with just a grin on face while there might be others who may get serious and even get furious as if this is something out of the world. You must stay patient on this occasion and calmly handle the situation.
Keep just one thing in mind that – people have different perspectives and temperaments and so, they may take their time to ‘digest’ the reality. Let them take their time before your call is accepted, but don’t stop loving them. You have did your job well, let them do theirs now!
