I Was Bullied For Being a Lesbian. Now I Know I Was Sexually Harassed.
It can take 20 years to realize these things
There wasn’t a period throughout my school years when I wasn’t being bullied for something. Some of it was common, stereotypical female bullying where my ‘friends’ decided I was unworthy of their affections and should be ignored. For example, I was laughed at for bringing an umbrella to school on a day when it was raining, or having tissues in my pocket when I had a cold. Whatever the specifics, I was always the chosen one when it came to my peers trying to make themselves feel better about who they were.
Unlike the mundane examples above, though, I was generally bullied for more personal reasons. Those were the ones that spread like wildfire and were impossible to put out. At least with the silly ones, people forgot that I hadn’t wanted to get wet or get caught with snot running down my face. With the serious stuff, no one would have the chance to forget.
I was a quiet, shy, 13 year old when I was outed as a lesbian.
I’d made the mistake of talking to my ‘best friend’ about my confused feelings, and could only watch in shock as she shared my deepest, darkest secret with as many people as possible. For the longest time, I believed that…
