i'm queer & so are most of my friends! i've gone back and forth a lot between pan and bi and aro and ace and aroace and more and tbh I'm still not sure haha. queer is a good enough label for me :)) 

Ok. Ok. So I originally wasn't going to post on here because to everyone else in my life, I am straight and male. But when I was 11 and 12 I came out on CB as gender-neutral. I used the pronouns ae/aer (which, sidenote, have a really interesting history involving a 1920s novel). I never told anyone outside of CB, even anyone else on the internet. Why? Because CB was the place I felt safe. But now... my pronouns on CB and off are he/him. I just am still finding my identity I guess. I love the LGBTQIA+ community and my friends in it (my best friend is trans). But I feel like in many ways I can't be a part of it. My parents are openly homophobic and transphobic and I know they won't support me. They are also very religious (I am an atheist but I still have to participate in going to church, reading devotionals, and praying often with them) and they cite their faith as a reason that LGBTQIA+ people are not people. Not only that but they send me to a Christian creationist school that, right there in their school policy, says that same thing. You are literally not allowed to come out. And you have to sign a paper agreeing that you won't. It's like signing your identity, and your choice to be who you are away. I hate this school. But anyway, I want people in not only the LGBTQIA+ community but the CB community as well to know that you are not alone. You are as human as anyone can be and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Even though the world can be cruel, Chatterbox will always support you. I will always support you and will available to talk if you want. Just know that you are loved.

I am going to respond to everyone later just a fyi or something 

So, I have a  question for nonbinary people. You don't have to answer. 

I've seen a lot of people on this thread say they are closeted, afraid, and insecure about who they are/coming out. To this, I have to say:

I'm not sure if you have come out to the people closest to you. If you haven't, I remember when I was scared to come out to my parents. It took me some time, but I finally told my parents about who I was. I think, at first, it was a little hard to switch from the pronouns they had been calling me to the pronouns I use now, it definitely was hard for them to grasp--they had both grown up in a really rural areas, and they didn't exactly know what the LGBTQ+ community was. I remember my dad telling me he had a friend in high school? who was gay, so it did tell me that he wasn't NOT supportive. It has been a few years since I have come out, and my parents have definitely adapted to using the right pronouns. I also have a trans cousin on my mom's side, and when he came out to his family, they struggled even more to accept him. They did NOT support the LGBTQ+ community, but they have accepted him now. My Grandma even reached out to him, which, if you met my Grandma, is not something she would usually do. I think, if you want to come out to your friends/parents/family then they might (big emphasis on might!) struggle to accept you, but since they are close to you they will love you no matter what.

That ends my speech, but here is something else...

BIG HUGE BEAR (virtual) HUG x1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 

Hey, I'm Writing_in_the_Dark (Writing for short), I use he/they pronouns and the CB honestly helped me figure out my identity.

When I joined, I had actually been questioning my sexuality for a while but didn't realize it. My family is accepting, but I still hadn't thought about it much. I joined in 2021, I was in online school, and I had a lot of time to reflect.

For a bit I identified as genderfae- which means genderfluid but not feeling masculine or male genders. My pronouns would phase between she/her, she/they, and they/them. I don't remember exactly where my sexuality was like at that point, but I know pretty early on I started identifying as pansexual, meaning I was attracted to any gender.

Soon enough I began identifying as fully nonbinary. I used they/them pronouns, and eventually added xe/xem pronouns as well. (Those pronouns started feeling weird soon after I went in-person at school again and used my choosen name, Zee; with xe and my name having the same sound it was pretty confusing). I also identified as omniromantic and asexual. Omni means I still like all genders, but I may have a preferance or gender may play a role in my attraction. Asexual means I don't like more physical affection... Say, kissing.

Now, I'm 15. I identify as a demiboy, he/they pronouns. Demiboy means I partially feel like a boy, along with some other gender. For me, this means xenogenders. Xenogenders are genders that come from things other than the typical social construct of gender (boy vs girl). Some examples might be robotgender, pupgender, etc. They are mostly used by neurodivergent people, but are open to everyone unless specified. 

I still use omniromantic, but I also use demisexual now. Demisexual it means it takes me a while to get to know the person before experiencing physical attraction. 

To me, my identity is very nuanced. I don't fully get it myself and there are a lot of parts that can't be expressed through words. I feel like a "boy", but not a "man", and I don't experience as much dysphoria as other trans people do. I like skirts and dresses and the color pink. But I also love sharks and dogs and sci-fi drama stories. I use my gender as an art form- to me its more than just what pronouns I use or how people refer to me. It's just me. Things I like, things I feel connected to, things that give me comfort... They all blend into who I am, and the best way I can express it is through my gender.

I don't share it with everyone. Often times if someone were to ask, I'd just say "Oh, I'm trans" or tell them my pronouns. My gender is a personal thing. But I love exploring it. There is something... freeing about it. Because I can express myself however I wish.

Now that I've seen more of this thrread and read MELISSA, I'm not so sure anymore of who I am attracted to (maybe I'm asexual). I am typically dressed as a girly girl, pink, lululemon, shiny hair. I WANT to dress like that. On the other hand, I don't really know what exactly a crush is. I like this guy, but I don't think it really feels like a crush. I WOULD like to live with my best friend for the rest of my life, but not get married or date her or something. Might be too early to say, but I don't think I want to be physically attracted to anyone. I don't think I'm a guy or non binary though. Give me a couple more years and I might figure it out. Or not. (I'm 13 btw)

I've been questioning my sexuality. I don't think I'm aroace, but I have been thinking about that spectrum. I thought it might be grayromantic and aegoromantic, but I wonder if I like people I know a lot. Sometimes I'll really like someone (platonically) and I talk about them and I feel like I want to impress them, but I don't know if I exactly like them. I don't really know what liking someone is supposed to feel like. Does anyone have any advice?