Coming out

Coming out is likely still one of the most significant moments in the life of any gay man. Perhaps the first thing some gay men did was buy a Gaytimes Book Club paperback and skim through the personal ads.

Did anyone just out buy this volume in the Adam Illustrated Library looking for insight? One of the faces in the background looks concerned, another predatory and wickedly queer. The blond muscle guys in the background surely only want to discuss the finer points of triceps development.

When I came out I read a biography of Wilde, The City and the Pillar and something called Gay USA (it had a photo of a fetching looking guy with a feather in his cap on the cover: all I remember of it).

Excited, I started telling people. Running into somebody I knew from Shuman Junior or Savannah High it was the first thing out of my mouth. One fellow did let me know that not only was I violating some sort of biological Prime Directive but I was also headed toward the fiery pit where the worm dieth not. ...