Dec 03 2007
Sometimes it takes someone else to help us come out…
My coming out as being gay wasn’t a party at all. It wasn’t even anything eventful. My cousin’s husband pretty much outed me beyond my control. He somehow had the nerve to tell my family about my sexuality without him even knowing who I am, what I’ve been through. I thought it was very selfish and very intrusive.
After he told everyone, the next family event I had to go to was my sister’s 25th wedding anniversary. I was with my boyfriend then and I took him to the celebration. That was pretty much it. We were wearing the ‘barong tagalog’ (traditional Philippine formal men’s wear) together and everyone pretty much knew we were partners. I thought I wasn’t ready but since I know that my cousin’s husband pretty much blabbed about me (more on him later), I just had to grin and bear it. And you know what? It wasn’t bad at all. My family accepted the fact that I am gay and that my partner is someone that I love and they respected him.
Each one of us have our own coming out story. Mine wasn’t as ‘flashy’ and ‘melo-dramatic’ as others but it did happen at a time when I thought I wasn’t ready - but subconsciously, I was. When the time comes for you to come out, you’ll know. Some people came out when they were 16 or 17 or even 35 or 50. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It matters ‘how ready’ you are.
Watch J.P. come out on national TV. He’s a model. It was actually inspiring.
