I (22M, American) was raised by a conservative family and taught traditional gender roles. I was told multiple times that that “gay” men (men who didn’t conform to traditional masculine gender expression) were ruining society and literally deserved to die, and that people out in the real world do the dirty work of disposing of them through stochastic violence.
Unfortunately, I turned out almost exactly how I wasn’t supposed to. I wanted to embody a cute and delicate masculinity, my true personality was caring, affectionate, and emotional, and I loved cute and pretty things. Ironically, I was so in love with feminine energy that I developed an emotionally intense heterosexual attraction to women, though in a way that was nothing like the typical straight model.
Long story short, I faced an entire childhood of ridicule and isolation and eventually developed an autoimmune disease with disabilities as a souvenir. I wanted to take my own life, but the Internet existed, so I numbed myself with endless slop content instead.
The progressive side of the Internet taught me that there are a lot of ways of being beyond the “conform or fucking die” model I was raised with. I learned that a minority of women actually could be attracted to me despite my utter disregard for the manliness rules, something I was blackpilled on before.
But I am still too scared to leave home. It is hard to motivate myself to do anything because the source of my fulfillment is to make people happy, but I can’t meet anyone because I’m frozen in fear. I still feel like everyone will hate me for being too feminine, and that the occasional stray vigilante will try to put a bullet in me. Even if I could defend myself, it feels too risky: I have to win every single time, while they only have to win once. On top of that, I am now visibly disabled, so I have to deal with ableism on top of everything else.
I can’t function this way. I’m not motivated to take care of myself or put effort into online college because I see no point to life if I can’t be social and authentic IRL. I literally just want to make people smile and feel cared for, but it feels like I’m too alien for people outside of a progressive echo chamber to accept me, and life will be full of constant gender policing, harassment, and threats of violence (especially because this is the U.S. we’re talking about). The most productive day of my life happened when I thought for a moment that I had a chance, but I fell back into my old habits once I started having doubts again.
It could be worth noting that I live in central Ohio, somewhat close to the city, so it’s not like I live in the middle of a rural hellscape. I also saw a non-binary androgynous person working at a clinic the other day, which seems like a good sign? I went to school in a more rural area, but of all of the people who seemed to like me, most of them were closer to the city.
If you have faced a similar situation, how did you make it through?
I’m wierder than most, so take this with the proverbial grain of salt.
First, the fact you are reaching out, even like this, is a good start. Don’t let the urge die if you can keep it up.
As for next steps, find your people. Is there someone out there who you see ‘speaking truth?’ Do they have a community? Find it. (People on here can help to a certain extent if you are willing to share, which I know can be a bit scary online)
What about your other interests? Do you game? There are communities for that. (Famously there are a lot of femboy gamer communities. They aren’t going to hate you for being gender-non-conforming.) There are streamer/youtuber communities. (Check out Phedran, a cool gal with a chill comm. No hate for gender-non-conformers there.) Do you like a particular fandom? Same. Drum circles, writing/reading groups, secular action groups, (you like caring for people? Try volunteering. There’s a ‘Food Not Bombs’ chapter in all the urban centers of Ohio. Even if you only go once a weekbecause of the long drive, you might find your people.) philosophy study groups (special mention: Quarantine Collective, very inclusive but not in a ‘repeat the party slogans’ way) and who knows what else. Do something you love and do it with people.
Is there a local queer community where you are? (coffee shop, bar, whatever) Even if you aren’t gay, you don’t have to take on any particular identity to socialize. The community is usually very welcoming of those who aren’t locked into the old fashioned gender norms, and at the least, aren’t likely to hate you for that kind of BS reason.You have options. Keep the momentum going and grab one.
I want to start by acknowledging where you’re located. It’s getting worse for gender nonconforming people for certain, however the Columbus area is one of the best parts of any red state to be gender nonconforming. You aren’t the only feminine straight guy around.
I’m a trans woman who came out while living in suburban ohio years ago. I’ve lived in multiple parts of the state and I’ve worked in places you probably shouldn’t go with a face that probably shouldn’t’ve been there. You’re an adult now and what that means is that you aren’t nearly as powerless to stop abuse as you once were. Carry pepper spray or something similar, and if people give you shit leave, but the worst that should happen is dirty looks. But I’ll say you may also find yourself getting more flattering looks if you take care of your appearance.
Also get tough. I hate to have to say it but it’s true. Thick skin is very valuable
Move to a liberal area. Bay area, Portland or Seattle areas. No one cares if you’re fem or masc in west coast cities. Live a happy life.
You’re strong for not masking your whole life. Things will get better (especially once Trump keels over) and you’ll find “your” people. A group of friends who love you for you. Your chosen family. I’m not a feminine male, but we all have our things, and I found my people.
I’m worried for my nephew who is in a similar boat to you at the age of 6. Growing up a sensitive, sweet boy in a bigoted community. I have to have faith that he’s gonna be okay… or he can come live with my family.
My (f42) partner (25) of almost 2 yrs is a feminine man, and I love him because of it, not in spite of it.
I grew up in a “they deserve to DIE” toxic conservative household too tho, so I understand how it makes you think the whole world is like that. I can only recommend exposure therapy to help drive home that the average person is by and large loving and accepting and would rather you be your authentic self than have you jump thru imaginary hoops leftover from your childhood.
I still refuse to wear dresses and skirts bc of the gender role trauma I experienced tho, so hopefully you can do a better job than me by the time you’re my age of shrugging all that off and being exactly the kind of human you want to be, regardless of how you were raised to do or be or not do or be certain things.
I’m glad to have met you on here, see you around!
It does sound like the US…
Well, if there’s one thing that should drive you, it should be getting some form of education or vocational training and forging your own path forward, ideally someplace chill. There’s many places on the west coast where being effeminate is totally normal, and people are totally fine with that. I like it when people get to really be themselves, and I LOVE men who wear cute things. We need more cute apparel!
I also think therapy would genuinely help you. If you put in your location, hit “all filters” and you can choose what type of therapy you want, and there’s also a separate section for Bisexual/Lesbian/LGBTQ+ (even if you are straight, filtering by these might get you a really thoughtful counselor.)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/oh/columbus
Just to make this post too long, I was in a similar boat coming out years ago. Not quite the same, I think girly stuff is cute, but I also don’t go out of my way to wear it. Anyways, I was really stuck in a rut over sexuality, conflicts with religion, and my confusion with cute women, but also cute men. My life really turned around when I started talking to close friends about what I was going through.
I went deep, no holds barred, we talked hard about everything and life. At the same time, I called my doctor’s office and got a referral for a therapist, who was excellent. That man really helped turn my life around, and recommended the site I linked above. Honestly, his help was all I needed. I’ve met someone I truly love, and everything all worked out in the end.
The hardest part for me was calling that clinic and telling them that I needed help, and why I needed help. It was hard, but life slowly got easier after that.
Kpop Demon Hunters Spoiler Alert
Rumi, Mira, and Zoey are demon hunter popstars.
But Rumi is half demon and living with it with only Celine, the person that raised her, knowing.
A bunch of stuff happens
then it gets revealed to the world Rumi is half demon
Rumi goes to Celine saying how now everyone knows
celine says to cover up, say it was all an illusion, make things right again
Rumi: no. no more lies. this is what i am
rumi: why cant you look at me? why couldnt you love me?
celine: i do
rumi: all of me
rumi leaves and that’s the last celine is seen.
rumi goes to the final demon concert where teh demon king is about to eat everyones souls
demon king: you expect to fix the world? you cant even fix yourself.
rumi: i cant
demon king: and now everyone finally sees you for what you are
rumi: they do
and then rumi’s demon patterns start becoming beautiful and she starts singing
some lyrics from rumis song: i broke in to a million pieces and i cant go back. but now im seeing all the beauty in the broken glass.
some lyrics from rumi’s song: my voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like
mira and zoey return to her and a verse is: but none of us is out here alone.
imo that’s what you need. you need a mira and zoey and to not be out there alone. you need people that really love you. all of you
and then the movie results in tons of crying and gets very blissful
and the key to maximizing her potential and truly being herself turns out to not have been to hide who she was, but to truly be herself.
I know you said you can’t leave because of family and stuff, but you do need to be somewhere that will get you away from the abuse you are getting. Get an apartment in your town, that’s a good start. And travel to the closest city to you. Central Ohio? I was in Columbus recently and was really digging it out there. Take a day trip or two every so often. Get out of that atmosphere.
Real talk, no one out in public cares what you do or how you act until you inconvenience them. If you mind your manners, you’re just an NPC to everyone else. You’re an adult now in an adult world where everyone else has their own stuff going on. Can you remember the personality of the 2nd to last random person that held a door open for you?
Our insignificance gives you permission to be who you want to be and the freedom to do whatever you want. No one thinks more about you than you do. Your experience with your family left a strong impression on you about the world you’re in, but that’s their experiences not yours. It’s now your time to have your own & build a worldview on your terms as you. No one has the authority to tell you to act a certain way. You are who you are & everyone else will have to just deal with it if they have a problem. It sounds like the only person attacking you right now is you.
Learn how to make small talk. Read How to Win Friends & Influence People and pick out the tricks you think would work.
Real talk, no one out in public cares what you do or how you act until you inconvenience them. If you mind your manners, you’re just an NPC to everyone else.
True until you’re visibly disabled. People can’t handle being reminded life isn’t fair, and they take it out on you.
Being closer to the city will definitely help
Find people who value your expression. People like you. People who love people like you.
I’m a somewhat feminine man myself, and man I hear where you’re coming from. And truth be told, you’ve managed to accept yourself the way you are earlier than I did. It took me a while to accept myself.
I also get the impression, though, that you have a traumatic response to the whole situation due to your upbringing. And it seems to me that that is something that you’ve accepted on the surface, but deep down, you’re still fighting with it. Which, by the way, is OK and normal. This shit takes time and work. If you have access in any way to mental healthcare, use it. You need to work through what you’ve experienced and learn how to deal with it better.
And I’m not sure I quite understood the situation completely - but if you’re still living with your parents, pull out all the stops to move out. As soon as possible. Otherwise, it will only keep dragging you down. As you’ve alluded to, despite all the shit happening today, there’s still a brighter world out there than what you’re experiencing with your family. It will be worth it, I promise.
I’ve always got on better with women than men. Always found more enjoyment in typically female pastimes. Decided not to show my power level. Never been happy with myself or my life as a result. I never enjoyed being something I’m not and all the friendships I made were based on a lie. Now at almost twice your age I figured out that maybe I was exposed to a wee bit much estrogen in utero. And that the reason I was infinitely more comfortable in the presence of women is because (at least mentally) I am one.
People always misunderstand gender as something that is either solely biological sex or solely a societal construct. There are actually a ton of weird endocrine, genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors that contribute to the baseline state of the brain. All things considered it makes perfect sense that gender would be a spectrum of states with clusters around male and female. You should read a bit about it. Even if you aren’t some sort of atypical gender it’d still be interesting. And you might find that the LGBTQ community is more accepting of your unique brand of masculinity. Even before my revelation most of my friends were some flavour of queer, just because they’re largely nice people.
Also I grew up rurally (I’m pretty sure more rural than 99.9% of people here) and the people back home are largely fine with queer folk if they know them personally. Like a family member came out as bisexual and didn’t loose any friends over it. And it’s a really small place so if one person knows, everyone knows. I’m not going to assume it’s like that everywhere though. One key difference is that my particular rural community is approx 70% atheist.
But yeah make gay friends and look into the whole gender thing. It’s perfectly normal to question these things.
Decided not to show my power level.
Are you a Z fighter ?
Kinda. But instead of a kamehameha, I just sleep with my opponents mother.
I can’t say I related to your specific situation but the world you describe doesn’t look like the world I live in at all.
Definitely seek therapy and learn how to accept and love yourself. It reads like you have some self-loathing based off your upbringing that you are projecting onto others when it’s really not the reality
I can’t give advice, sorry.
Do you have autism by any chance?
If people hate you for this, they’d have REALLY hated Jesus
“Dad I want to grow my hair out long”
“No, men must have short hair. Long hair is the sign of the devil”
“But all these pictures of Jesus have long hair”
“go to your room!!!”
