Since both your cousin and your grandmother will be there, and you don't feel comfortable with that, maybe you can change your topic to something else.

Oh wow---it's got to be really hard to have a deadline thrust upon you like that, especially when you're in such close living contact! I am sure some others here will have more advice than me, but I do want to offer you all my support and a big hug.

Thanks Antipova. And Rainbow Boy, it took me four weeks to write this speech so I'd rewrite it if I could, but unfortunately time is a factor.

Oh, I see. Well, the only other thing I can think of is asking your cousin if he/she can un-invite your grandmother. I know that sounds terrible, but given the conundrum you're in, it seems like an option.

If that doesn't work, do you really think a persuasive speech on gay marriage would automatically make your grandmother think you're gay? There are lots of people who aren't gay who support same-sex marriage.

If you don't want to come out to your grandmother, that's totally fine. There are many options, as I see it.

- For one, you could ask your cousin to vouch and say that the professor randomly assigned topics to everyone in the class. Your topic just happened to be gay marriage, and the topics were not allowed to be switched, traded or in any way altered.
- You could say that you chose a difficult topic that you don't have strong personal feelings about, because you felt that it would be personally challenging.
- You could say you chose gay marriage because it's a topical subject that would grab the attention of the class. You also hoped that it would impress your professor to argue a current political issue.
- Tell your grandmother that you might not perform as well in front of her because it would make you nervous. Ask if she would consider not coming, but seeing a private oration instead. Simply say that doing your oration in front of her and your class would be too nerve-racking and that your grade relies upon a good performance. If you do a private oration for her, you can improvise a quickie 60 second argument about just about anything.

Good luck! Seriously, there are plenty of family members that don't know all about my sexuality, and that's fine by me. Not everyone needs to know (or can handle knowing) everything and that's okay. You can come out to her in your own time - or not at all, if that's your choice. Your sexuality is your own private business, and your grades are priority, so go ahead and lie if need be. ALSO, what the fuck is with your cousin? Damn.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Oh and @Owl Identified, my cousin is a very cruel and heartless bitch. She even had the balls to insult my abilities as a nurse at my grandfather's funeral. So....yeah, she's got issues

Owl Identified gave a lot of excellent advice. Let us know how it goes!

If you aren't ready to tell her, or her to find out, just don't come right out and say it. Just say you're a strong supporter.

If you aren't bringing your girlfriend around to family functions, is it really necessary to tell your family? It's one thing to "live a lie", it's another to tell them more info than they want to know.

THANKS EVERYONE!! I Gave My Speech Today. It was a MASSIVE success! My grandmother took everything surprisingly well

Congrats! Glad she suprised you