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My Best Friend is Gay!
What shall I do? My best friend of 5 years has just told me she’s a lesbian. I don’t have a problem with it but recently she’s been getting jealous when I talk to a boy. What should I do?
R, 17
Dear R
I feel that you need to talk to her about your sense that she is jealous because you probably have thoughts in your own mind about why that jealousy is there. You might have questioned in your own mind whether your friend is attracted to you or not and if she is having feelings for you then it might help for the two of you to talk that through. If you have been friends for five years already then I imagine you must be pretty close to one another. If you don’t talk about this with her and everything stays underground it could slowly drive you apart or make things awkward between you and that would be a shame. It isn’t always easy to be truly honest with ourselves or with others when it comes to exploring our sexuality so I appreciate this must feel like a very sensitive area.
Is she a Girl or a Boy?
My best friend has just told me that she was born a boy I still love her the same but don’t really know how to take it, I think I should tell her how I feel about it but I’m worried because I don’t know how well she will take it. Please help!!!
Dear S
The most important thing about this for you and for your friend is that you both know that you still love her the same. This is an enormously intimate thing for her to share with you and equally an enormous thing for you to digest and take in. You will need time to adjust to such big news so be patient with yourself. I think you have both been very brave to be open with one another and to trust that your friendship will still be there. She must have gone through a long and difficult process to come to terms with her gender identity so I imagine she will understand that now you also have a process of your own to come to terms with it. Talk to her. I am sure she feels less alone now that she has shared this with you, and you will feel less alone if you share how you feel with her.