Yes, congratulations doctorsoft, a major step for you.
Hopefully it won't stop there, but everything in its own time aye...
I think it's important to note the immense feeling of liberation that comes from admitting the truth to your loved ones. Definitely makes it worth the while to take that dreadful plunge. There's always a risk that they won't react very well but ultimately it's a good test of their true devotion to you. Because I think we can all do without the people who only care about us based on a skewed notion of who we are.
And thank you to _____ for sharing your story with us. Touching on one of the things you said, I had a similar reaction from my middle sister (whom I told a few months after my youngest sister), she was convinced that I'd got this "idea" from the internet and wanted to argue with me that I "couldn't really know I'm not attracted to girls until I've slept with one". I lol-ed of course and asked her how she knew
she wasn't attracted to girls? No reply to that one...
We then proceeded to avoid the subject for a few years, but now she's making jokes about it, how much I suck at fashion and am generally useless as a gay brother...
My oldest sister was a more difficult nut to crack, since she's so much older than us (she's 40 now) and therefore the most conservative. She didn't make a big drama about it when I told her but she did tell me flat out that she didn't "agree" with it and outright
forbade me to ever tell our parents. Last year I went to my first pride parade and she managed to call me while I was on the bus to the capital so I told her where I was going. I got a cold "ok", then she hung up and proceeded to make a huge drama to my youngest and middle sister back at home about how selfish I was being and how I don't think about what this would do the the rest of the family if it ever got out. Fantastic reaction from someone who is supposed to care more about me than what others think. This year she again caught me on the way to the capital for another pride parade but she was a lot more mellow. She just sighed and I told her to get used it because I definitely don't plan to hide in the privacy of my own home...
It's interesting to note that ALL of them were completely taken by surprise when I told them, which I think is rather odd since I'm not exactly the archetype of masculinity and have never been seen with a girl. I guess I got away with it by being tall, skinny and hopelessly awkward...:\
So...small steps but we're all getting there...