A friend of mine shared this video by Wayne Goss, the make up artist, with me. I loved it and decided to take the questions from it and answer them myself. In some areas I agree with the guy in the video and others not so much. I'd love others to answer these questions also.
Video
When did you know you
were gay?
It seems like such a mundane question however it is very
interesting and I am sure the answer is different for every person. Like the guy in the video I cannot pinpoint a
moment. I do know I was very open to the
idea of gay people from when I moved out of home. My first experience with gay
people was meeting friends once I left home and started my nursing
training. I now know that of course it
would have been unusual that I had not met gay people before that but it truly
was a different time – even though not that long ago and I don’t recall any gay
people in my life as a child. Prior to
moving out of home it truly was something I knew nothing about. Perhaps I am showing my age. Coming out was (to my knowledge) nothing that
happened at my school. My school friends can correct me if I am wrong! For me it is more of a case of when did I
decide to live my life openly and that was when I met Monique. Meeting my soulmate truly was the moment that
I knew my life would be shared with her and I wanted everyone in my life to be
part of my happiness. My love for her
made it clear to me that anyone who didn’t support us was not someone I wanted
in my life.
Is being gay a
choice?
In a previous blog I talked about the ‘choice’ idea. For those who didn’t read it I don’t know the
answer to this question and I don’t particularly care. Is being straight a choice? No idea.
I’d love to hear the opinion of straight and gay people on this
question.
Should I ask my son,
daughter, friend if they are gay?
I say no. You can
demonstrate that you are open and would be accepting without asking someone
outright. Especially parents, you can
easily show your children that you support gay people and do not
discriminate. It actually is a deeply
personal question. By asking the
question directly, not only do you risk putting someone in a difficult
situation and making your relationship uncomfortable, but it is really a
personal decision for someone to decide what the right time for them is.
Should everyone come
out?
My first reaction to this is a resounding ‘yes’. However I’m really reflecting that from my
own experience and circumstances. As the
guy in the video said, respecting your surrounding and circumstances is
important. If coming out would put you
at risk you may choose not to. I so wish
that there wasn’t a circumstance that someone coming out would put them at
risk. Unfortunately that is not the
world we live in. Coming out in some
countries would put an individual’s life at risk, other countries imprisonment and
other criminal punishment. Interestingly
we don’t often think there is a risk to someone in countries such as Australia, the UK
and America
for coming out. In most cases this is
true however it is sadly too common for harm to come to people when they come
out in these countries. Parents have
murdered their children for being gay, in fact for the mere thought that they
may be gay. People have been killed and
physically assaulted because others either knew or thought they were gay. Bullying is far too common and friends and
family ending relationships with someone because they are gay happen too
frequently as well. So while I would
love to hope that everyone could not only come out, but that coming out would
be either not necessary just like people do not announce they are straight or
that it would cause no negative reaction, that is not where we are right
now.
Ultimately it is the choice of the individual however I
worry sometimes the difficulty and emotional harm people face by not being
their authentic selves with people important to them. I personally think that would be torturous
and how hard it must be to maintain a facade.
Have you ever had a
bad reaction from friends/family?
The simple answer is yes and out of respect for those people
I will not share the details publically on this blog. Relationships have been strained and ended as
a result. It’s interesting though, in my
experience and in Monique’s, often it is the people who you think will be OK
that struggle and the ones that you think will not accept you that do in fact
embrace you. It is definitely not easy
and far too many relationships are ended due to people not being able to cope
with the idea that their friend or relative is gay. Eye opening and very sad. Times change and I hope that more and more
people do not experience situations where they lose friends and family over
being gay. It’s strange to say how much
respect I have for the people in my life who have stood by me from day 1, I
wish it wasn’t something that was even a consideration, but it is. I am thankful to those people.
Any Advice?
If you are straight know how important it is to support
people in anyway that is right for you.
Straight allies signing petitions, standing by our sides at rallies and
taking our word for how important legal changes are fills me with hope. Society will continue to change for the
better when straight and gay people are side by side fighting discrimination
and supporting equality.
If you are gay – trust yourself and love yourself. You are the person you are meant to be – live
it if you can.
Any of my gay friends or gay people who read this blog or Facebook
page want to answer the same questions?
I’d love to hear your viewpoint. I've put the questions below so it is easy for you to copy them.
When did you know you
were gay?
Is being gay a
choice?
Should I ask my son,
daughter, friend if they are gay?
Should everyone come
out?
Have you ever had a
bad reaction from friends/family?
Any Advice?
A
Adele Fisher Copyright 2014