I saw someone else do this and I thought I’d do something similar.

Though gay/bi people to a large extent share the same rights as straight people in the UK, we still face discrimination. Here’s a thread detailing as much as I can remember about my experience growing up LGBTQ:

Education: There was no LGBTQ-inclusive sex education/ information available at my school. We didn’t have an LGBTQ club or have discussions about sexual and gender minorities. No teachers were openly LGBTQ (though we knew some were) + homophobic rhetoric was not challenged.

Bullying: Like most LGBTQ people I faced a lot of bullying because of the sexuality my peers perceived me to be. I’ve had slurs such as “faggot”, “puff”, “queer” directed at me and on a few occasions it was accompanied by being pushed into a wall/ towards the school’s balconies..

...I’ve been punched in the balls in the changing rooms with the given reason for doing it being “to check if you have any”. Other people who have since come out as LGBTQ were some of the most targeted by harassment. The first person I know who came out got beat up soon after.

Out in public: I can’t count how many times people have thought it was ok to yell homophobic abuse at me while walking about with a partner. I’ve had tutting on trains and someone set their dog on me and an ex when we were kissing in a park...

...I’ve had people ask me what sexual position I prefer (once loudly on a bus) even when they didn’t know me based on my perceived sexuality. I had a couple of people I vaguely recognised from school follow me home and ask me because I’m “clearly” gay, do I shave my pubic hair?..

...and I had a few people run behind me and whack me on the back of the head while walking home from school because they perceived me to be gay.

Bi-erasure/phobia: I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’m really gay even though I’ve told them I identify as bi (asking what percentage is usually the follow up). I’ve had girls say they wouldn’t date me because I’m bi + people who I’ve dated cut contact when they’ve found out.

Family: Coming out to my family was difficult for me because of some of the language they had used to talk about LGBTQ people in the past. But, out of respect for them and respect for the fact they’ve now come to accept who I am, I won’t go into this in any detail.

Friends: Happy to say I've only had to cut off a few homophobes and the friends I now surround myself with are cool with my sexuality.

This is all I can think of sitting here for half an hour. I’m sure given enough time I could list some more things (some repressed stuff too).

I don’t want my sexuality to define me but I can’t get away from the fact that it has had a big impact on my self-worth.

By posting this thread I’m not saying that I’m unlucky either. My experience of being bisexual has been like playing the game of life on beginners mode. Please read more about LGBTQ experiences across the world: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/05/17/map-shows-where-its-illegal-to-be-gay--30-years-since-who-declassified-homosexuality-as-disease/amp/