LGBTQ broadcaster shares how she didn’t ‘always know’ she was gay – AOL
TikToker, TV broadcaster and LGBTQ activist Megan Mitchell’s (@megan.mitchellll) touching video, featuring her journey toward accepting her sexuality and coming out as gay, has viewers reaching for the tissues.
Mitchell understands the loneliness and challenges that can happen for someone in the process of recognizing their queer identity while growing up in a heteronormative society. So Mitchell made a video sharing her path toward accepting her sexuality to remind those struggling with coming out that they’re not alone. Based on the viral response, Mitchell’s message resonated with many viewers.
The clip opens with the words “I didn’t ‘always know’” typed over home video footage of Mitchell as a little girl celebrating her birthday with a slice of cake. Then she appears as a preteen wearing her cheerleading uniform with a timid expression.
“I thought other people could be, but not me,” Mitchell’s on-screen text explains over footage of her in high school. The clip cuts to a present-day shot of Mitchell lip-syncing the song “You Might Not Like Her” by Maddie Zahm, which features the line, “freaked out after kissing a girl and pushed it down further.”
Mitchell continues, “[I] thought I was in love with my gay male BFF,” before concluding, “but I realized: I wasn’t attracted to men, I was attracted to femininity.”
In a shot of Mitchell as an adult showing off her new undercut hairstyle, she shares that recognizing this attraction made it easier for Mitchell to realize that she “might like women.”
“I am gay,” Mitchell states over a shot of her collar, which features the sentence “Gender is a construct” stitched underneath. She explains how coming out helped her find a new sense of purpose for her career. She shows that in the following shots of her reporting on various LGBTQ issues before giving a shout-out to her best friend and former crush, who stuck by her side “through it all.”
“This is so validating to me!”
Mitchell’s story struck a chord with many viewers, who took to the comments to thank her for sharing her story.
“This is so validating to me! I didn’t always ‘know’ either, and it’s always made me feel less than. Thank you. Love ya,” one user commented.
“Oh, we have such a similar story. I’m so happy you get to be you,” one TikToker shared.
“‘I thought other people could be, but not me’ is so real and so hard to break through. The other side is magnificent,” one viewer mentioned.
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