then you have a couple options, one is to not say anything till you have a same sex partner and take what comes or drift away from them if educating them slowly over time don't work and find new friends. If they wont be there for you then you don't need them, there are many others who will be there for you if you broaden your horizons.

I'm in the same situation. I am a 31-yo MTF who will be brining it up for the first time at my psychotherapist's office this week. I have no idea what opportunities will close off when I come out and I am certain it won't happen until after I graduate from uni in May. I feel like I have time to prepare, but I'm not really sure where to go and I definitely have no idea whom to talk to.

Jenny,

When I was a kid there was a scifi fantasy television show (original Twilight Zone) and one of the episodes was about two young people who were considered hideous by their society and couldn't be helped by available plastic surgeries. The closing scene is as they meet each other and momentarily recoil then one explains to the other that the colony they are going to is one they will come to be comfortable with over time and some day they will look at each other and only see beauty. Clincher of course is that the society they came from were misshapen grotesque creatures and they were classically beautiful themselves.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we are as natural as any creature on the planet, with the same opportunities to be worthwhile loving people. You learn to be brave like you learn to tie your shoes. Practice it until you are ready to do it on your own, then do it and keep on doing it! Counselors help. Friends sometimes help. Family sometimes help. Teachers sometimes help. Church and school and other institutions sometimes help. Beat the bushes and find your supporters! You can do this and at some point it gets easier on a lot of levels. Don't hurry. Take your time. This can be stressful, but it can also have beautiful moments. I am guessing at some point you are going to look in the mirror and meet someone more brave and beautiful than you can now imagine.

Take care.
Liam

Jenny, you cannot change your birth 'defect'. It is not your fault. It sounds like you are young enough to walk away from transphobic morons who do not deserve to be in your life. Is it time to find another path? Speak to professionals who can provide the tools and aids to guide you on that path. I was given advice many years ago which was that not all problems have to be solved. Sometimes just walking around them and leaving them to die a natural death is the better way. Bigots are most definitely in that category! Take care and I wish you well.

I understand how you feel. My parents are both very conservative and were/are against the LGBT pride marriage thing when it was originally legalized. When I came out to them, they told me they disagreed with my "lifestyle choice" but they still loved me. For me, it's been hard finding that balance of agree to disagree so we can all move on with our lives...if that makes any sense. The good thing about your friends is that you chose your friends (whereas you can't exactly choose your family), so in my experience, my friends were more okay with me being gay because if they chose to be friends with my personality, not my sexuality. Obviously, that doesn't speak for everyone, but even if your friends ditch you, you didn't need them around in the first place. I wish you good luck in your journey :) hmu if you need someone to talk to. send memes to. idc... just know I'm there :)

Hi I am really nervous about saying this but here it goes. I am bi and tried to tell my mum but she pretends like the convo never happened!!! My friends are great with it but my family is another issue. I don’t know how to tell both my parents properly so there is no misunderstanding. What do I do ?