Are you sexually attracted or are you confusing that with just really liking your same sex friend. There's nothing wrong with really liking or even loving a same sex friend. Often that's sign of a unique and awesome friendship. If you were told at one time to "explore this side of yourself" and you did and your body reacted, this is not an indicator of being gay. It's an indicator that your body is reacting to sexual response. See, your body doesn't know that it's single, married, or gay for that matter. It will respond to sexual stimulation, despite where it's coming from. So again, THAT IT NOT AN INDICATOR OF BEING GAY (now that should be a relief to some of you!) ¹Research has shown that no one is born "gay" any more than one is born a professional athlete. There are circumstances that can occur in life that can lead one into a homosexual lifestyle.

²Studies have shown the following factors attributing to the homosexual lifestyle:

1) Lack of affirmation from same sex parent - parent is absent a lot during childhood

2) Disassociation from same gender - Lack of love and the need to fulfill it. Awakening usually happens in Jr. High; OR dad abuses mom and child thinking is "I won't grow up to be like you. All men must be like my father."

3) Overbearing Mother - Single parent household (female situation) parent-child relationship off balance. No male role model in child's life and child seek it elsewhere. Sometimes mother unloads problems on child when child is not ready to handle this info emotionally.

4) Sexual Abuse - there are no statistics for this but it's like a no-brainer. When sexual happens, disassociation happens...as explained in item 2.

The bottom line is that you are a valuable, worthwhile person, and you matter. We don't want to judge you, or put you down. We want you to experience security and safety in relationships, and to know that you're loved.

                    ¹Research taken from book "Homoseuality and the Politics of Truth", Jeffrey Santinover, MD 1996
                     ²  http://www.metanoiaonline.org