Interesting situation

[leahyu]

Hey everyone. It's been a while since I posted anything here, but I've been trolling! Anyway, I had something interesting happen the other day, and I need a little advice, please.
To get right to the point, my 16 year-old niece figured out that I'm gay all on her own, and asked me the "Are you a lesbian?" question. She's like my favorite relative,

Comments

[leahyu]

OMG! That site is awesome! Not an incredible amount of information, but it has good basics, and they're a comic! Going to show her this ASAP. Thanks for sharing!

[leahyu]

Thanks. I actually started reading through them!

[leahyu]

I forgot about that one. Thanks for the reminder!

[sidheblessed]

Totally agree, Scarleteen is wonderful! It's a resource I wish I had when I was a kid.

[patricia_writes]

I agree -- if you're not at ease, just send her to a *good* website. Congrats on coming out to her!!

[leahyu]

Thanks! She's from the part of the family that I don't have much contact with under normal circumstances, her being the exception. (Uber right, ultra relig, that stuff)
She's always been more like a little sister, and I was tempted to lie, to be honest. I'm glad I told her the truth, because now she thinks I'm even cooler! Lol

[chibik]

I would tell her I didn't feel comfortable discussing my personal sex life, but agree with the good website thing and just also say that sex is different for everybody, gay/straight/everything else, so not everybody likes every sexual activity.

[leahyu]

Absolutely right. I'm going to leave the personal details out of it. If she's got questions, and she will, I'll answer them if I don't feel they are inappropriate. If they are, well I've got web sites to help. I'm thinking this might not be so hard, after all. :-)

[sidheblessed]

I think the idea of a directing her toward useful websites is a good idea, though it might also work to answer what you can in general terms (i.e. some women like to do this, some prefer this etc.)

[leahyu]

That was the idea, more or less. I'd never just leave her hanging. I'd prefer that she at least get the "basics" from someone in the know, and I'd love it if that someone was me! Doubly important because I have the sneaky suspicion that she's doing a bit of sexual exploration on her own.

[caddishness]

If that's the case, I'd second websites like scarletteen. They include information not just about what people do when they're having sex but also on safety and consent. That's also useful to know even if she's completely straight.