OK. It is obvious that I am still a closeted case. Now, it does not run in my family as much as I thought, not one gay person, then suddenly one day my cousin came out. She came out in high school. Suddenly we have younger female cousins who came out sometime afterwards, and now I wondering if we have younger male cousins who are afraid to come out. Now I haven't come out yet, but I am sure my immediate family suspect I am gay. And I wonder how many others might suspect. So I am thinking, despite possible scrutiny and jokes which only mask homophobia from others in the extended family, that I should come out for the sake of those who maybe closeted, that I do it for being a role model. It would be a little motivation boost for me and others, and if there aren't any, than I will most likely be happy I am out. I certainly suspect my life will get easier on my social skills not suffering, I can quit underestimating myself, and actually start dating again without trying to be something I am not. I certainly know it will get better in the outer world eventually, no real big fear there. I definitely do not want any suicides happening, especially knowing there were some closeted family I didn't know about. But on the other hand I moved away from extended family to get away from needing to tell them, they don;t need to know, especially with the family not being very favorable of gay people. Standing up for oneself, even it is standing alone, is something I've always been fascinated with but had no one to talk about with who have such a life experience to gain confidence to follow suit. Can anyone give me some advice? Appreciate it.
How does your family react to those people that have come out? If they react positively/neutrally, then sure! Come out if you feel comfortable. However, if they react negatively then I would come out to the female cousins that have already. They can give you some advice on how to come out to the rest of the family. Don't feel rushed to do it because you feel somebody needs to be the first one. I have put a lot of thought into possibly doing it myself. While it is true that everything has a first, you do not have to be the first to be an inspiration to others. Don't rush yourself.
