Coming Out … continued from Friday
Friday’s Come Out & Play post touched a few people. Here’s one response I received through e-mail:
I just read your article on Coming out later in life. It was in the Come Out and Play section. I am 46 and in the process of coming out. I was married for 18 years and finally accepted the fact that I love women right before I left my husband. Then I said I was bisexual and dated men and women. But recently, I finally accepted the fact that I am lesbian. I have known it since I was in my early teens but there wasn’t a lot of information on it except how wrong it was. I can’t wait to read more about others coming out to inspire my own story.
Thanks! ~ M
It’s nice to know that people are affected by the topics I choose to write about and the points I discuss. Coming Out is such a confusing process - if there were a handbook that could be handed out to everyone embarking on their Coming Out journey it would be extremely beneficial. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s just something every homosexual has to muddle through, no matter who you are. Just ask T.R. Knight …
It was rumored last October that Knight was gay. And speculation grew once Isaiah Washington called Knight an anti-gay slur, or allegedly called him one … regardless, the damage was done. Knight was outed before he was ready. But all in all, he took it in stride.
T.R. Knight: I’ve Learned So Much
T.R. Knight says he’s evolved as a person since announcing last October that he’s gay.
“I feel I’ve learned so much this past year, so I’m grateful for that - so, yeah, that changes you,” the 34-year-old actor said Thursday on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Knight, who plays Dr. George O’Malley on ABC’s hit medical drama, “Grey’s Anatomy,” announced that he’s gay after it surfaced that Isaiah Washington had used an anti-gay slur against him during an on-set clash with a co-star.
Washington, 44, was booted from his role as a surgeon on the show after he used an anti-gay epithet backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in January while denying he’d used it previously on the set against Knight.
He publicly apologized and tried to make amends by meeting with gay-rights organizations and filming a public-service announcement calling for tolerance.
Knight said telling the world you’re gay isn’t an easy thing to do.
“Everyone has their own path,” he said. “You just have to respect that. I know a lot of people who make statements but you have to do it when it’s right for you.”
Knight joked that he’s dating someone very close to “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star Katherine Heigl.
“Recently Kate and her fiance, Josh Kelley, and me and her mom went out to dinner … and it was reported that it was with me and my new boyfriend. But that was really her mom,” he told DeGeneres.
“So I guess I’m dating Katherine’s mom right now,” he quipped. ~ The Associated Press
We all need space and time to adjust to being out, whether we are famous and live in the spotlight or spend all of our time on a farm in some mid-western country town called Bumpkinville. As I said before, there should be a coming out book. Maybe I should write one? But everyone’s process is different. Everyone’s path is so varied. How do you write a book tailored to such a thing? The fact is, you don’t. There’s no book. There’s no guide. There’s only one thing you can do when you are Coming Out. Follow your heart and trust that the path you are on, however bumpy, will take you where you were meant to go.
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