Gay: Stories: Coming Out

Because heterosexuality is so broadly assumed, there is a process shared by gay people of constructing and asserting a gay identity. Most important for gay people is coming out to one's self, but coming out is an ongoing process where a gay person asserts one's identity as a gay person at all levels of a society that assumes heterosexuality and tends to treat gay people with disrespect.

An example and some discussion about what happens when coming out doesn't go well:

• Coming out to unaccepting parents
  
• Dan Ingram talks about the ongoing process of being out to his parents
  
• Arne Adolphson reiterates that some parents will never accept their children't homosexuality
  
• Kristin Bergen questions where Arne is coming from on this subject
  
• Arne replies to Kristin's questions