LGBTQ People Shared Their Favorite "Mom, How Did You Not Know?!" Pictures, And They're Equal Parts Hilarious And Heartwarming

Every Pride we ask LGBTQ members of the BuzzFeed Community to send us pictures of their younger not-so-straight selves. Because *most people* love these posts, I asked again and you delivered with more great pics. Enjoy and happy Pride!

1."Supporting my first pop diva with a fresh coat of lip balm💋" —javieravila

small kid in a selena T-shirt and lip gloss

2."Gays can never pose normal, it’s not in our DNA." —gabriellastra

small kid posing with attitude in front of a grave

Editor's note: Is that a grave!?!

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3."Dancing > football." —eds22

small kid posing with his arms around his head next to a football player

4."So excited for my rainbow suspenders! Rainbow. Suspenders." —jbuffett76

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5."My sister holding a Barbie, my brother holding a G.I. Joe, and me holding...a remote-control rat." — cactipoke

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6."Serving face, stunting pretty. I'm the bitch from the 'happiest place in the world.'" —cagedbird

a small boy posing dramatically with his head tilted and arms folded over his body

7."It is truly a mystery that my mother was surprised when I came out… I had those cargo pants in three different colors and LOVED them. —jmjustrun

young girl in baggy pants and long shirt

8."Doing the most always 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈" —emmaroseharrell

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9."A very on-brand picture of me when I was 7." —timothygonzales

kid walking up the stairs and looking down in judgement at another kid eating pizza

10."So many contrasting energies... dino pjs + bridal Barbie." —cgpappas12

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11."My mini lezzie self was all business in the front and party in the back! And no butch would be complete without a workout panda shirt!" —amandab225

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12."There was never a question." —rickyw4779a636b

a kid in a suit posing with both hands on hips

13."If that’s not a tiny lesbian then I don’t know what is!" —aleamato111

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14."I've got mother's purse, heels, and keys — ready to hit the grocery store." —okn0tok

small boy in a onesie and heels

15."'90s baby bi wearing a flipped up purple bucket hat, a white T-shirt under a striped mock turtleneck, and all of that under Winnie the Pooh overall shorts." —shaylariday74

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16."I’ll just leave this here." —jeremyb17

a young boy posing with attitude while wearing matching sweats and a top hot

17."The hand says it all lol." —gabriellastra

a young boy with his wrist midday in the air

18."Catch a big fish ✅ Bevel like Rockette ✅" —rjp1981

kid posing with a fish with one leg bended in front of the other

19."I was a pre-teen person in Texas the 1970s, this is how we actually dressed. But that sassy hip sling says it all." —wonkobox

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20."Not pictured: Navy blue camo cargo shorts." —acmielke

young girl in a tank top with a fake tattoo on her arm

21."My mom loves to send me this one at least once a year lol." —brantleyw

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22."What can I say? I always loved an open toe." —rdsalt

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23."Ken might have brought me out of the closet, but Barbie taught me how to slay!" —mikemontiel

young boy holding barbies

24."Absolute gay main character lmao." —stellarstella64

young girl singing into a mic with friends dancing behind

25."I clearly knew from a young age I wanted my milkshake to bring everyone to the yard. Not just boys 😂" —phoenixrose12

young girl posing with a winnie the pooh swim suit

26."The leather. The look. The lean. Clearly a budding bisexual in the making 👏" —jordanb4ca1e7ae3

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27.“I’m just a Tomboy, I don’t like girls!” —amart91

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28."The pose, the pink rope, and the Guess overalls. I don’t know how my family didn’t expect a gay boy." —nickanick88

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29."This was in fifth grade when I forgot it was picture day. This is the gayest photo I have of myself to date and I’m 36 now lol."—maryzaroura

—maryzaroura

30."A young queer can always recognize the gay icon greatness of queen Tina Turner 🌈" —briannamyoung01

a young kid posing with the wax figure of tina

31."The coordinated outfit, the pose, the cat, I was a fabulous child." —samuelgrillo

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32."I mean, is an explanation really necessary? I feel like this picture pretty much speaks for itself (and dates itself)." —padawanryan

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33."The fact that my parents didn’t see my escape from the closet coming blows my mind." —glitterybubble50

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34."I was very excited to sit on Smurfette’s lap..." —jamiev424c94b8b

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35."Featuring me AND my little brother, who is also gay!" —alexg69

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36."10 months old and I already knew that a lace front was the way to go." —andyd

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37."Strike a pose, there's nothing to it." —Andres Zapata, Facebook

  Andres Zapata
Andres Zapata

38."I had a Spice Girls picture book and copied Baby Spice’s poses in every photo I took in the '90s. ✌"—jonob93

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39."Just your average cowboy." —jarrettsavant

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40."My four older brothers and I all picked out our own Easter outfits that year. I call this picture, 'Blue, Blue, Brown, Brown, Gay.'" —seejordan

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41."Look at that smile and the head tilt. How was my mom shocked when I came out at 29?" —ikbalsutannasution

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42."Oh, this? Just a sign I made, printed out, colored IN A RAINBOW and demanded my dad take a picture of me for absolutely no reason other than to proclaim my love for all things Les Mis." —travisgrossi

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43."Here's me at age nine as the only girl in football camp with 30 boys 😅 And people were surprised when I turned out to be a lesbian 😅😅" —s46b39a4b5

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44."20 years ago and I already was doing the universal bi (peace) sign." —nadine5678

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45."1-year-old. #BabyButch #Forever." —kiaraj92

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46."The flannel, the sunglasses, my brother’s shoes, and my dad’s hat." —valb4d3667845

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47."Future lesbian reporting with my best ‘on my way to steal ya girl’ face.'" —taylorbrookecyr

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48."Even at age 3 I couldn’t sit in a chair like a normal person." — Alice

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49."As a young girl, I got cast in my school's Christmas play...as one of the Wise Men. Mum unknowingly helped me get into my first drag — even drawing a beard on me.” —lildragjesus

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50."The suspenders over the checkered sweatshirt, over the turtleneck, and the teal chunky pants they’re holding up. Plus the side eye practicing my “hey” look. Clearly trans non-binary from birth." —kendallmaye

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51."I can literally hear myself in this picture." —raymondcantu1

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52."I didn't know I was gay yet, but my mom's shirt sure did." —Jay Jay

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53."Striking a pose even when I was supposed to be fishing." —codystretchb

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54."I couldn’t quite grasp the whole ‘sitting in chairs correctly’ concept." —lizmenendez

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55."More interested in posing with the fish than actually catching them." —jkcy87

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56."How did my parents not figure it out for 21 years?" —trashhuman

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57."My parents had to know, right?" —mmartinh13

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58."As a non-binary person who uses they/them pronouns, this makes perfect sense to me. My bowl cut, rainbow heart shirt, and the pose. Iconic awkward androgyny." —mgtuff99

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59."Howdy ladies." —nicolew4fa00946c

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60."I'm a gay trans man who loves dresses. I made outfits like this all the time as a kid, which caused my parents not to believe me when I came out six years ago. But now that it's a little more acceptable for people to wear what they like regardless of gender, I can confidently wear what I want and not worry about what others think again :)" —maxymurder

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61."If this cross-legged picture with Ball Gown Minnie didn't do it for 'em, I'm not sure what else they were waiting for. This was a complete serve for 4-year-old me." —ColieOlieOleman

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62."The Hawaiian shirt and King Princess haircut should have been indicators of my lesbianism early in life!" —izzyrusso

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63."Hand on hip, holding up a VHS of the Swan Princess. I loved that film, and was damned proud to have it!" —tellerink

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64."I'm FTM. This is me around age 3, dressed as my favorite fictional character at the time: Max, King of the Wild Things." —pariss4ba788046

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65."Kindergarten was my first day in drag!" —johncampa

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66."Mom wanted pretty dress, I wanted mud puddles." —humanrhapsody

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67."A baby gay with legs for days." —lummis7

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68."Have you ever seen a more fabulous Batman?! I basically came out with the strength of the bat signal." —jmehock

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69."The sass alone should’ve been a giveaway, but I went to Catholic school, thankfully I had two amazing parents who recognized it before I did and were very supportive when I figured it out." —rickyw

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70."Here I am on Christmas morning with Cool Shavin' Ken. It should come as no surprise that my Barbies all ended up with shaved heads." —katiem124

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71."Let's just say it didn't really come as a shock to anybody when I turned out to be a gay trans man." —19gbiggs99

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72."Short spikey hair (modeled after my favorite wrestler back in the day) and I compromised with the pink sweatshirt to make my mother happy, but come on, I’m not fooling anyone here: GAYYYY!!" —sydneyp123

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73."I meeeean…" —caseymaine

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Want to be featured on BuzzFeed? Follow the BuzzFeed Community on Facebook and Twitter! Also, submit your own pictures in the comments! You know we're going to do another post.

Looking for more ways to get involved? Check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2022.

  Kevin Valente/BuzzFeed
Kevin Valente/BuzzFeed