Caly's New "Question of the Week"
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| Sun, 04-30-2006 - 5:20pm |
I didn't want Caly's new question to get missed under the previous QOTW post...
ARE YOU READY TO BE "OUT"? WHY OR WHY NOT?
Personally, I am ready to be out. Although I'm not totally there, I'm working on coming out more & more all the time. I am already out to my family and close friends, I have a rainbow sticker on my car, and I wear a HRC pin on my ID tag at work. I don't discuss being a lesbian with people at work, and I would guess most people don't really know. They may suspect, but no one has asked me as of yet. I would be honest if they did. I decided a while back that I would not hide it from anyone who asked because I want people to know it's not something I'm ashamed of at all. I do worry about possible negative reactions at work because I teach elementary kids in a small, rather conservative town. But another part of me feels like I shouldn't have to worry. If the administration wasn't supportive, then really, why would I want to work in that type of setting?
My kids know I'm gay, of course. After all, we're buying a house with my girlfriend. I don't think they talk about it with most of their friends, however, and I feel that's totally their decision to make. I've told them they are welcome to tell people whatever makes them more comfortable. They know I am proud of who I am, but if they feel better saying Rose is just my roommate, that's fine. Rose's kids are shy about it too, especially her teenage son. It's hard being a teen though, so I understand.
On the other hand, Rose & I are good friends with a local lesbian couple and one of them has a teenage daughter who is completely open about it. She is totally proud of her mom and is active in the gay alliance group at her high school. She's a popular, pretty girl, a cheerleader, etc. and I am so impressed that she was brave enough to move to this town a year ago and be totally upfront with her classmates about her mom. That had to be a scary decision...what if she wasn't accepted by her new peers? Luckily, they seemed to admire how she stood up for gay rights instead.
I just finished reading Chastity Bono's book "Family Outing" -- and I think it's made me want to be more out. I think more people need to see that lesbians don't fall into just a certain stereotype. We are every woman...and there are many of us. I had one friend tell me (when I came out to her last year) that she never thought she'd have anything in common with a gay person. But she and I were friends for a long time before she knew I was a lesbian. She told me it opened her eyes to see that lesbians really are just regular people...mothers, friends, etc. That made me proud and made me want to show other people the same thing.
Sorry I got so wordy, ladies. (I think I'm just avoiding packing my house cause it's so boring!)
Jules

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