The media reports daily about how the “woke,” the “deranged left-wing radicals,” NPR and those who support LGBTQ+ are and have been grooming children to become members of LGBTQ+ community. I cannot be clearer about this — I was groomed.

I was raised by two very heterosexual parents with clear gender roles. I was made to wear dresses and wear my hair long. Every book I read had heterosexual characters. Every movie I watched had heterosexual themes. I was served a steady diet of heterosexuality. And I tried. Oh, how I tried to fit in and be “normal.” And I felt awful about myself. It was agonizing. Then, after years of struggling to come to an understanding of myself, in my 20s, I came out, and it was liberating.

I am not queer because I went to a drag show, or read a book, or saw “Sesame Street,” or watched a movie. I am who I am because it’s how I was born. No one opts to be a part of a marginalized group. By the way, my sexual orientation hasn’t rubbed off on any of my colleagues or family.

Lynn Sullivan
South Freeport