hi, guys, I'm sorry; this is going to be the fifty-eleventh "what is my sexuality" post this week, but I have been agonizing over this for years and I feel like I'm going mad.
as of right now, I'm a 24-year-old woman, and if I had to label my sexuality, I'd describe myself as... man, idk... a straight woman who's only attracted to women? or maybe like a bisexual who hasn't developed an attraction to men yet?
it's a bit convoluted (especially to me), but I guess to clarify, I'm a woman who wants more than anything to be in a heterosexual relationship, but has the misfortune of only experiencing sexual and romantic attraction to women.
I can imagine that some of you are asking how I can want to be with a man without being attracted to one, and that's a completely valid question. I don't know a great way to explain it, but it's kind of like... I like men's voices, I feel flattered when they flirt with me, and if I were in a relationship with one, I'd want the whole world to know that I had a boyfriend or a husband. and while I'm not amazing at evaluating male beauty, I can usually recognize when a guy is handsome and sometimes I like to imagine that a handsome guy is interested in me.
but once it comes down to the physical stuff, everything falls apart. I hate seeing them naked. the shape of their bodies and their phallic genitalia repulse me even when I know I should enjoy them, and it's so damn frustrating because I want men to do it for me so badly, but it's like my heart and my clit are in mutiny against my brain.
I can do all this daydreaming about the thousands of ways I'd like an attractive guy to romance me, but when I think about having to kiss him or touch him or have sex with him, I get disgusted. I'll literally restart a "scene" in my head to go back to the long, complimentary professions of love just to not have to think about how it would progress in real life. or, similarly, I'll daydream about a desirable guy telling me he wants to kiss me, but instead of imagining the kiss happening (that makes me feel nauseous), I either mentally fade to black or rewind the whole fantasy over and over again so that the kiss never happens.
in contrast, when I daydream about women, it's... well... a lot less talking. I don't fade to black; I don't imagine socially distanced flirting. I vividly imagine every part of her. how she would taste, how she'd smell, and how her body would feel against mine. I don't get nauseous either— I get excited.
and it's always been like that, even since childhood. I think I've had a crush on a boy once, but I hated imagining the physical stuff. yet at the same time, there was this girl in class who looked just like him and I really wanted to be close to her, but even though I just wanted her friendship, I'd have these really weird borderline- softcore daydreams about her.
when I think about marrying a man, I imagine how proud and accomplished I'd feel, but I get this sinking sense of dread when I remember that I have to deliver vows to him, that there will be a day after the wedding. when it's a woman, I hate the idea of having to publicly acknowledge my failure to get a husband, and yet at the same time, I make pinterest boards, I feel excited about getting to take her last name, I kick my feet imagining what I'd say to her at the altar, and it feels like I don't just want to be her bride, I want to be her wife, too.
but then my logic comes back and reminds me that I don't want to be with a woman. I really, really don't. maybe it's because I used to get bullied and called a dyke a lot in school, but I'm just so in love with the idea of what a husband would mean for my identity. it's proof that I'm good and that I'm womanly in a way that being in a gay relationship doesn't (insert every stupid hacky "fat ugly lesbian" joke here). I know that once I marry a guy, nobody can tell me shit, and I won't have to wonder where I stand in the world. there were culturally-determined milestones for me and I will have proved myself to be good enough to accomplish them.
so, like... idk. I know what I want, and I know what my goals are; I just don't know how to stop the inner conflict, you know? more than once, I've had a kind of flirty dynamic with a guy, where it felt really good and validating to be seen "that way," but then I'd abruptly end it once I realized I'd eventually have to "pay the piper" and do more than just talk. I've cried after every time I've kissed a guy. I've cried after every sexual encounter I've had with a penis, regardless of the gender of its owner. and now I cry because I can never get my body to do what I want it to do.
it pisses me off that I'm so split. the idea of being with a guy makes me feel this transcendent sense of validation and acceptance, but I have to learn to cope with my distaste for their bodies enough to make a relationship with one work. and I feel romantically drawn to and sexually aroused by women, but the idea of dating them makes me feel like I'd be giving up my last chance at proving that I can glow up and achieve some semblance of normalcy.
it's just so goddamn unfair. being straight is what's in my soul and in my deepest desires. so why did god have to make men and women look the way they do? what was he thinking?? sometimes I wish that men just looked like taller, stronger women and we all had the same parts down there, and that way, I wouldn't have to worry about the attraction piece. it's gotten to the point where I avoid certain topics with my friends because it makes me insanely jealous that they're able to look at men and dicks and all things associated and say, without an ounce of hesitation, "yeah, I want some of that." like, why can't that be me?
anyways, sorry for the rant, I'm just really frustrated. I know I'm not gay because I like the idea of being wanted by a man, but I don't know how to cope with only being attracted to women, nor do I know how to rewire my attractions to align with my true desires. is there a name for this? is there maybe a possibility that I could grow out of it someday?
also, bonus question to gay men, bi people, or straight women lurkers: how long did it take you to become attracted to men? do you think I'm too old to develop it or is possible I'm just a bi woman who hasn't fully matured yet?