Confused Teen
Thursday September 14, 2006
Dear Kathy
I’m 16 years old and I'm a junior in high school. I've always considered myself very straight and I still do. I mean, I'm still very attracted to guys and everything. But ever since the summer and now the beginning of the year, I've been having strange feelings for my best friend. I don’t feel a sexual attraction in any way, but we both have talked about it and we feel something towards each other that is beyond friendship.
I’m 16 years old and I'm a junior in high school. I've always considered myself very straight and I still do. I mean, I'm still very attracted to guys and everything. But ever since the summer and now the beginning of the year, I've been having strange feelings for my best friend. I don’t feel a sexual attraction in any way, but we both have talked about it and we feel something towards each other that is beyond friendship.
I've been thinking about it a lot and doing some research and I'm thinking that I might possibly be bisexual. But at the same time, she is the ONLY girl that I've ever felt something towards, that goes beyond friendship. So I've been wondering, am I only bi-curious? Or might I actually be bisexual?
Sincerely,
Confused Teen
Dear Confused Teen
You are not alone. Trust me, I get several questions like this a week. Here's what I have to say to you.
Comments
Dear Confused Teen,
What Kathy advised you was very on the mark. Don’t label yourself and as you mature you may find yourself more attracted to one sex or the other. Kathy told you that many people fall somewhere between gay and straight. I am a 50ish woman…who went through a year of counseling in order to help me sort things out and leave a bad marriage a few years back. My counselor told me the same thing…that only a small percentage of people fall on each end of the spectrum…those that are 100% straight, those that are 100% gay…with the rest of us falling in the middle. I would probably “label” myself bisexual, but i don’t like the use of labels. I have found life more emotionally fulfilling with women as I’ve explored this side of myself. Give yourself time to find your own answers and not put a label on yourself that might redirect your life journey too prematurely. Hugs, Gail