I have a question: have you in any shape or form tried to have sexual or romantical relationships with other guys? Or are you waiting for the correct person to be able to explore your sexuality?
I mean, it is probably as you said. Growing in a conservative environment usually brings about this reluctance to accept onselef, regardless of your beliefs. And to be honest, it is probably not a question you should answer too outwardly if you remain in an unsafe space to do so. One of the worst experiences of queer growth tends to be fear of isolation, so always make sure that there's a caring community backing you up.
In my experience it is very scary. I remained in denial until I was 15-16 and after that I was scared shitless of coming out to other people. At that time I lived with someone who was very openly homophobic and , just like you, despite knowing it is ok, that hurdle made it hard to accept myself.
I probably don't need to tell you that there is nothing wrong with you. It is just a matter of time before you can fight your own prejudice. As the post above me said: attempting therapy might be a good way to start. It doesn't need to be a healing experience per se, but there being a space for you to verbalize your discomfort and seeing it through external lens might give you some insight.
i think a lot of what you said resonates with me, especially the part about knowing there's nothing wrong with being queer but still struggling to fully accept it yourself. it's a weird feeling because i know i'd never judge anyone else for their sexuality, yet somehow i still hold myself to a different standard lol
i think i'm still figuring things out when it comes to relationships, and i'd rather not get into the more personal aspects of that. but i do think growing up in such a conservative environment has made it difficult to separate what i actually feel from what i've been taught to feel. therapy is definitely something i've considered, and i think having somewhere to talk about all of this without feeling judged could genuinely help












