Switch Hitter
Posted by ulla on Sunday, February 22, 2009
Under: Bisexual
Name or Nick Name : “Switch-Hitter“
Country or City you are from: : USA
Your Age : 23
Your Gender : Male
What did you come out as? : Bi
What other words would you use to describe yourself? : I am adventurous, always looking for something fun to do. I can be a nut, especially when it come to sports (which I consider myself to be athletic in) and Judy Garland (whom I obsessively collect memorabilia of), among other people. I am also a poet, and I deal with my sexuality by writing poems with a same-sex theme.
How old were you when you first realised your identity? : 22
How old were you when you first told someone? : 22
Did you plan it? If so, how? : Yes. It was my best friend (a female — name withheld) who hosted a poetry reading not far from where I lived.
What made you choose that person to tell? : She had a stepson (his name withheld — whom I helped reunite) who was gay, and plus she was tolerant of other LGBT poets who performed at the other venues she went to.
Can you remember exactly what you said? : I told her that I still loved women, but that I was bisexual and asked if she would still love me (we are very good friends).
How did you feel? : Nervous as hell.
What was the person’s reaction? : The same as with doing them another small favor, I suppose.
What did they say? : Her response was “Sure.”
What was your relationship with the person like afterwards? : The same as before, but that I’m more open with myself.
What’s it like now? : It’s great. I only see her once a month (at best), but when I do I enjoy every minute of it.
If you’ve been outed unwillingly, who did it? : Yes, it was an anonymous blogger.
What happened? : (S)he was posting nasty blogs about me over the internet, particularly on WordPress. The people running the website eventually removed the blogs and banned the user.
What were peoples’ reactions? : I told some people about it, and the disgust was more geared toward the blogger than it was to me.
If you’ve experienced homophobia etc, please give an example. : One time, at a poetry slam, I read a same sex love poem. Two judges gave me a 10.0 and a 9.0, but a third judge gave me a 5.0. So that was clearly bias.
Since coming out how out are you at school? : not_applicable
Since coming out, how “out” are you at work? : not_applicable
Since coming out, how “out” are you with family? : all_out
Since coming out, how “out” are you with your friends? : all_out
What does being out mean to you? : More power to me, perhaps. If somebody has an opinion of me I’m open to hearing about it. If they don’t like me it’s their problem!
What differences, if any, did your cultural background make to your experience of coming out? : I’m from Texas, a very conservative part of America. At first I was leery to come out, due to the stories I read about young people being disowned by their families and all that. But I’ve realized since then that it’s not the child’s problem. It’s that of the parents. As for mine, they’re getting used to it one day at a time.
What does the concept of the closet mean to you? : To me it’s an emotional prison cell I don’t ever want to go back to.
What advice would you give someone wanting to come out? : Be honest about your true feelings. There are people out there (school counselor, therapist, etc.) who can listen. If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, it’s okay to tell other people. It may take courage and time, but at the end of the day people will understand.
If you could do it all again, would you do it any differently? If so, how? : No. I think I came out at the right time. I didn’t want to wait until my fifties (or until after my parents have died) to do what I did last year.
Anything you want to add? : Love the people who love you, and love those who do not.
Country or City you are from: : USA
Your Age : 23
Your Gender : Male
What did you come out as? : Bi
What other words would you use to describe yourself? : I am adventurous, always looking for something fun to do. I can be a nut, especially when it come to sports (which I consider myself to be athletic in) and Judy Garland (whom I obsessively collect memorabilia of), among other people. I am also a poet, and I deal with my sexuality by writing poems with a same-sex theme.
How old were you when you first realised your identity? : 22
How old were you when you first told someone? : 22
Did you plan it? If so, how? : Yes. It was my best friend (a female — name withheld) who hosted a poetry reading not far from where I lived.
What made you choose that person to tell? : She had a stepson (his name withheld — whom I helped reunite) who was gay, and plus she was tolerant of other LGBT poets who performed at the other venues she went to.
Can you remember exactly what you said? : I told her that I still loved women, but that I was bisexual and asked if she would still love me (we are very good friends).
How did you feel? : Nervous as hell.
What was the person’s reaction? : The same as with doing them another small favor, I suppose.
What did they say? : Her response was “Sure.”
What was your relationship with the person like afterwards? : The same as before, but that I’m more open with myself.
What’s it like now? : It’s great. I only see her once a month (at best), but when I do I enjoy every minute of it.
If you’ve been outed unwillingly, who did it? : Yes, it was an anonymous blogger.
What happened? : (S)he was posting nasty blogs about me over the internet, particularly on WordPress. The people running the website eventually removed the blogs and banned the user.
What were peoples’ reactions? : I told some people about it, and the disgust was more geared toward the blogger than it was to me.
If you’ve experienced homophobia etc, please give an example. : One time, at a poetry slam, I read a same sex love poem. Two judges gave me a 10.0 and a 9.0, but a third judge gave me a 5.0. So that was clearly bias.
Since coming out how out are you at school? : not_applicable
Since coming out, how “out” are you at work? : not_applicable
Since coming out, how “out” are you with family? : all_out
Since coming out, how “out” are you with your friends? : all_out
What does being out mean to you? : More power to me, perhaps. If somebody has an opinion of me I’m open to hearing about it. If they don’t like me it’s their problem!
What differences, if any, did your cultural background make to your experience of coming out? : I’m from Texas, a very conservative part of America. At first I was leery to come out, due to the stories I read about young people being disowned by their families and all that. But I’ve realized since then that it’s not the child’s problem. It’s that of the parents. As for mine, they’re getting used to it one day at a time.
What does the concept of the closet mean to you? : To me it’s an emotional prison cell I don’t ever want to go back to.
What advice would you give someone wanting to come out? : Be honest about your true feelings. There are people out there (school counselor, therapist, etc.) who can listen. If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, it’s okay to tell other people. It may take courage and time, but at the end of the day people will understand.
If you could do it all again, would you do it any differently? If so, how? : No. I think I came out at the right time. I didn’t want to wait until my fifties (or until after my parents have died) to do what I did last year.
Anything you want to add? : Love the people who love you, and love those who do not.
In : Bisexual
