For me, I was 16, and my Mom noticed that I had done certain things, such as shaving my legs and painting my nails. She brought me into her room and asked me what was going on. I didn’t really feel ready to tell her yet, so I just looked at her in silence. She asked me a million questions and eventually she asked me if I’m trans. I still wasn’t ready yet, but I also didn’t want to lie either, so I didn’t say anything. She asked me again, and I knew she was on to me, so I gave a sheepish little nod. She told me she loved me and gave me a hug, although she did have a bit of prejudice towards me at first, but she gradually became more accepting over time.

Imo, it is better to come out sooner rather than later. If they have prejudice towards you but still love you, they will come around eventually. I think that because the people around me have gotten to see me progress through my transition, it is helped them to more easily see me as human. Of course, come out when you are ready. It sucks to not be able to come out in the way you want to, and being that I was forced out early, I’m not sure what the experience is like if you come out later. My thoughts are that because humans tend to not like new things, their reaction might be a bit harsher if you come out later.

Coming out was a lot easier for me than expected. My Mom’s side of the family is cool and when I came out to them as a trans enby and mentioned wanting to start hormone therapy they were incredibly supportive.

What was a real surprise was my Dad’s reaction. We’d grown apart since I was outed as gay at 16, and he really doesn’t “get” why I’d want to transition, but after clearing up a bit of confusion he accepted me as well. Just wants me to be happy. Woo!! ^__