"I Realized I Was Gay": Men Who Came Out Later In Life Are Sharg What It Was Like For Them To Reveal That Tth And Live Authentilly

i didn't always know i was gay

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WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE GAY?

When did you realize you were gay?

Homosexuals of Redd, when did you realize you were gay? Then he addrsed the class, stctg each to take out a piece of paper and a pen and wre down the moment when we all realized we were gay. I had already been asked a ln tim, "When did you know you were gay", but I was thrilled to have someone state the qutn aloud, the ntext of an amic exercise.

"I REALIZED I WAS GAY": MEN WHO CAME OUT LATER IN LIFE ARE SHARG WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THEM TO REVEAL THAT TTH AND LIVE AUTHENTILLY

If I was gay, I wonred if meant that I would be required to cut my hair to a buzzcut like the (first, ostensibly) lbian (I had ever nfirmed as such) my mother had poted out to me at the Ralph Lren outlet a middle-class untry town you might fd somewhere like Vermont; a untry town where you might fd lbians.

When I found out earlier this month, along wh the rt of the world, that one of my favore actors, Kal Penn, is a fellow gay man and now engaged to his long-time partner, I was so happy that he was openly livg his tth. "I realized I was gay last year, after 36 years durg the lockdown. After seeg a gay guy I uld see myself , I started to qutn myself more.

I me out as bisexual at 44 after my stepson me out as gay at 11 years old. "I moved to Ireland jt before the referendum that legalized gay marriage.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE GAY?

Once the untry around me changed and I started seeg more gays the muny, felt safer, and I felt more fortable to e out. I'd fantasize about men and watch gay porn.

Part of me felt rponsible for her ath, as if beg bi or gay and my feelgs of regret somehow ed .

I also realized that the label of ‘gay’ ma more sense for me than ‘bi. But when I moved to California and saw more gay people, then I really started to realize . I gus that's the pot I f the fn of 'gay' rather than bi.

I ASKED GUYS WHEN THEY FIRST KNEW THEY WERE GAY

I have a lot of stori about folks who were homophobic but me around to acceptg me and honorg me for beg a gay man, once they got to know me beyond what I do bed. In the meantime, I kept watchg gay porn but wouldn't accept and felt guilty after jerkg off to . I me out to my wife many moons ago but took a long time to realize that prayg the gay away wasn’t workg.

I’m a good place right now and share my home wh gay iends, as well as adult children.

WHAT IF YOU ONLY THOUGHT YOU WERE GAY?

I basilly created my own gay muny. "I fally started serly qutng my early 40s and quickly realized I was gay.

Pl the ‘80s was not a particularly good time to be gay — I thk fear of AIDS was possibly one thg that had me nial. I wonr if I'd accepted I'm gay when I was 20, if thgs would have been much different. After spendg years dog all the manly thgs that were supposed to straighten me out, I had a particular weekend — a men-only whewater raftg trip — when I realized I did all the thgs I was aimg for that were supposed to change me, and I was still 100% gay.

Once I knew the gay wasn't gog anywhere, I figured I wanted to be open and hont wh people om then on, regardls of how the rt of my life went. The last thg, you wanted to be was gay, at least my md.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* I DIDN'T ALWAYS KNOW I WAS GAY

What If You Only Thought You Were Gay? | GQ .

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