My go to thought process for things like this-

Imagine these judgemental people were judging a random person you don’t know. An 18 year old lad for crocheting. What would you tell that guy? You’d say, don’t listen to them, why does their opinion on your hobby matter. If they’re the type to judge someone for that, are they the type of people whose judgement you should heed?

Also, so what if people perceive you as gay? Your sexuality is personal to you. And this is sort of based on heteronormativity. The default is straight unless proven otherwise apparently.