5 Tips for Bullied LGBT Youth

The type of bullying I experienced in middle school was subtle, and its effect even more so. I never expressed the pain they inflicted on me, simply because I did not want any more attention. Within me, however, their bullying and words had sparked a battle between my culture's machismo, my Roman Catholic background, and a sexual part of me that just wouldn't go away. I thus graduated middle school very disturbed, dreading the possibility of my homosexuality and the future it held. I was scared of potential abandonment and of the teachings of people in positions of power in my church.