Today at school, one of my friends (I'm only officially out to one person at my high school, and it isn't him) called me a homophobe (jokingly) for refusing to high-five another classmate. This got me thinking if I should just come out already at school. That's not the trouble, though. I go to an all-boys catholic school, and while I've managed to avoid most teasing and taunting (by changing in the bathroom in phys ed) I'm not sure how the other children or the administration would react. Overall, the kids aren't homophobic (genuinely- the word gay is thrown around a lot, but not in reference to actual gay people), but the administration is and I'm not sure if this could have a negative effect on my school life. Our school officially bans all discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (ha) but being an atheist I'm already a target for the teachers, and I'm wondering if anybody has any experience in this type of environment or any advice they can share. Thanks!
If your school offers a discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation, then if you do come out, and get flak for it, use that policy to strengthen yourself and counterattack the faculty. Do you think it would be worth coming out?
I think it would definitely be worth it in terms of eliminating a lot of the "is he or isn't he" chatter I hear constantly, but being the school's only out gay person, I'd inevitably be singled a lot more.
I'm not sure I'd want to come out as gay at a all-boys Catholic school on top of being atheist. I don't think that has a good outcome no matter how you look at it, lol. Is it really important that everyone knows you're gay at this point in your life, especially people that don't matter? I doubt you'd be dating any other guy there at school? I don't really see it being relevant right now, but that's just me.
