RPPuzzle said :
I went to a local LGBT support group. It was a place to share our feelings about being gay. I shared my feelings about being gay and that I have a hard time liking and accepting myself for it. I would rather be heterosexual just because it would make life a little bit easier on me, especially growing up in a staunch Christian household.
Somehow, apparently, it's a threat to other people that I feel that way about being gay. It's like they're saying that I'm saying that it's wrong for other people to accept their gayness. I'm not, and the only reason I shared is because I was hoping I wasn't alone in feeling this way, but I guess I am. Apparently we're all just supposed to be extremely happy that we're gay and completely accepting of it. And if you think differently when you're among other LGBT, you better just keep it to yourself.
My kid had a tough time figuring out who/what they were, and started attending an LGBT group once they realized that they were queer. One of the things that happened was that a generational gap developed over the course of a mere three years. The older teens in the program had the kinds of difficulties you describe, many of them sneaking out to go the the program because they were still in the closet. Some were abused and/or homeless because of the way their families reacted when they found out. But the younger teens joining the program were very open and out, and vocal about it. They came from supportive families, had queer and straight friends who accepted each other and all hung out together, and they could never understand the challenges the older teens had faced. It's kind of weird that there was such a huge gap in experiences with such a small gap in years, and it made things really awkward between the older and younger teens, because the younger ones just couldn't understand (and had no patience for) what the older teens were dealing with. The whole "support" aspect started to slip away, and it became more of a hang-out-and-have-fun group.
On the one hand, it's heartening to see attitudes and experiences evolving before our eyes. On the other hand, it is sad to see people take for granted the experiences that others have fought or are still fighting through. Just because people form a community on the basis of being queer does not mean that every queer experience is the same. But that is far different from saying that your experience is unique. You are not alone.
last edited at Nov 13, 2020 6:14PM
to some form of type 8 
and ultimately engage in polyamory making everyone happy.
