ABSTRACT
My obsession with race matters and finding social acceptance was so intense and consuming that it left no room for exploration of my other identity issues during my early formative years. Most notable was my realization at the age of twelve or thirteen that I was sexually attracted to females as well as males. While I was well aware of my feelings and never tried to suppress them, they held no social or behavioral significance for me until after I was twenty-five, and I was not aware of any community of others with similar desires until well past the age when most people have already entered into it.
