Handling Double Judgment

[EmilyElizabeth]

My girlfriend's family and friends are all really supportive and accepting of LGBT relationships. It's a non-issue there. But for my family and friends, and the background I come from, it's a really big deal. Opinions are all over the place, and some people are more comfortable hearing/talking about my relationship than others. I would write off what other people think, but these aren't random strangers or acquaintances. These are close friends and relatives and my parents.

There are some people who are supportive, so it's not just one big opposition. But if you add in the hesitancy and judgment people have for LDRs, especially LDRs that started with online dating, sometimes it's tough.

So, fellow LGBT LDR couples, how do you handle double the judgment from people you care about?

[kittyxuchiha11]

When I was with my ex I was still in high school and due to prior experience i learned that people were homophobic assholes so really the only person who i ever told about my ex was my really close gay friend and my mum. everyone else just sort of left me alone if they didn't have anything to bully me about. When i went to college i realised that maybe all people weren't assholes and i actually did my talk that i was required to do for a grade on ldr's and of course in all of that i got to talk about my girlfriend and i thought that maybe people would just avoid me when they found out but everyone in my class was really interested and i asked about my relationship a lot after that, and people didn't really seem to care that i was gay that was just the part that made the ldr part more interesting.

Ever since leaving high school i've been pretty open about my relationships and my way of making friends pretty much relies on me outing myself and seeing their reaction and if they don't care then that's great. of course there are still the odd group of boys or whatever who think you're gross and weird and then when they find out you're SO is 4000 miles away they make fun of you more. but it's only the odd group of people the majority of people seem quite accepting these days.

Luckily my family all don't really kick up a fuss about my sexuality, they care a little bit about the fact my SO is 10 years older and lives very far away but they only making passing comments on it, i know eventually they'll get used to it and they'll accept my SO.