Pride Month: I know there was nothing wrong with my sexuality but it’s time other people become aware of that

I identify as a demiromantic homosexual. Hence though I might have romantic feelings for all genders, which might take some time to develop, my sexual attraction is confined to boys only. I did understand that I was not the same as other guys back in grade three. It took me four more years to come to terms with labels like “gay” and “LGBT+” thanks to my friend Ishika.

It never was a problem for me to accept my sexuality because I knew that there was nothing wrong with it but that wasn’t the case for the guys of my grade. Even though I was closeted, I was verbally and physically abused by them on quite a few occasions. This was very traumatising for me and, to this day, I do not like hanging out with the boys of my grade.

Coming back to the topic, I came out to two of my closest friends back in eighth grade and even though I thought it was going to be something very dramatic, nothing of that sort happened and all Ishika said was, “I don’t care, you’re still the same dumb Aditya” and that’s how it went. I came out to a few of my friends later that year and almost everyone was positive about it. A few did leave after that but who cares anyway? Fast-forward to grade ten, I remember Love, Simon being released sometime back in April and I was crying after watching it.

A few days later, I was at my cousins’ place and we were discussing about how queer people had no rights and stuff when one of them asked, “Why are you so interested in them? Are you a part of the community as well?” I did know that both of them are very supportive but still there was some sort of fear that I couldn’t overcome, and I said “yes” and started crying. My elder cousin just came and hugged me. The younger one did the same. That felt so comforting.

Later, in the month of June, I added my first Pride event. It was basically a poetry slam and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Two days later, my literature teacher informed me that I was the topic of discussion in the staff room. She wasn’t wrong.

Later that day, two of my teachers called me to the staffroom. They harassed and threatened me with consequences if I did not ‘become’ straight. They said they would inform my parents. This was one of the major traumas I had faced. They even went on to decrease my marks in various subjects. Recently, I co-founded the Indian Queer Alliance and am looking forward to help the community in every way possible.