Over a year ago I was in a long-distance relationship, which is when I started describing myself as LGBTQ+ and began understanding parts of who I am that had always been in disarray. When my ex-partner and I decided to make our relationship open, he told me I was only allowed to sleep with other women. That was less threatening for him, in his head, it was as though sleeping with women wasn’t a real expression of my sexual or emotional desire. It was consistently invalidating that my sexuality was just seen as a play thing and like I was doing it for him, when in reality it gave me the chance to be me.