Repression means "to prevent feelings, desires, or ideas from being expressed": https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/repress

Repress: "to not allow something, especially feelings, to be expressed: He repressed a sudden desire to cry."

For him to repress the desire to cry, there should be a desire to cry in the first place. He can't repress the desire to cry if he doesn't even know he's going to cry and doesn't want to cry.

For negative feelings about being gay to be prevented from being expressed, there should be negative feelings in the mind that one consciously thinks about in the first place. Can't prevent negative feelings from being expressed, when there are none to be expressed. I don't go around thinking "ugh why am I gay", or "ugh, wish I weren't gay, it would be easier".

But if negative thoughts can appear in one's mind without one ever knowing about them even when they appear, and without ever thinking about them to know they even exist, then there is no difference between them and negative thoughts that just don't exist, now is there