I’m bi with conservative parents, how do I warm them up to the idea?

[CinnaStixX]

I’m not sure if this is the right topic-genre thing because this is my first post but here it goes anyway. I’m bi with conservative, un-open parents. They have expressed that they would stop letting me spend personal time with my female (I’m female) friends if they ever found out i was a lesbian or anything like that. I want to warm them up to the idea of sexualities other than straight so I can tell them without the consequences. Any ideas? 

[Anna O]

I (14)have no idea how to do this either. My parents are super conservative and my siblings (19 & 22) also are in the closet. I am biromantic asexual, which I understand is complicated, but I don’t want to come out as just bi, because i don’t feel the sexual attraction. I’ve come out to two close friends and they are both really supportive about me and my identity. I hope all goes well with you. And just know that there is always community.

[Monsoon]

12 hours ago, CinnaStixX said:

I’m not sure if this is the right topic-genre thing because this is my first post but here it goes anyway. I’m bi with conservative, un-open parents. They have expressed that they would stop letting me spend personal time with my female (I’m female) friends if they ever found out i was a lesbian or anything like that. I want to warm them up to the idea of sexualities other than straight so I can tell them without the consequences. Any ideas? 

Hey there,

Welcome to the DTL community. I'm one of the digital mentors here and I give advice to those who reach out to us. I'm sorry to hear that they said you wouldn't be able to spend personal time with your female friends if you were LGBTQ+. How did that make you feel?

I think that when it comes to warming up people who aren't open and accepting of LGBTQ+ identities, it's important to appreciate the big role love can play in allowing them to become more open-minded. Your parents love you so much, and that strong love can really help people to completely transform the way they think for the sake of their child. The very act of coming out and living your truth will be eye opening for them, and over time, you'll probably find that they become gradually more accepting. What do you think? 

In addition to that, it can be helpful to somehow expose them to LGBTQ+ stories and people; are there any queer themed shows or movies you could potentially watch with them?