How open are you about your sexuality?

I agree with you. Though I am not out to many people, telling people who've known me for years and years is harder. When I first meet someone, I don't come right out and tell them, but I drop hints. If they get it, great. If not, it's not like I told them I'm straight. So if they mention boyfriends, I politely correct them.

I am still in the coming out phase, sooo being comfortable in my sexuality is not a luxury I have in mounds at the moment.

 

I'm so open, it's all over the Internet!

 

I am open to anyone who ask or I bring it up to feel more comfortable with a friend. However, I do this for myself to deconstruct any guilt or shame I have left. On the contrary, I am not as open with my family as I'd like to be, but that's going to take time. Hopefully the DOMA repeal will catalyze less bigotry between my parents and me.

@Bird66

I have some advice. To get me through the day to feel less ashamed about myself, I wake up an hour-and-a-half early to awaken, and if those feelings of shame, guilt, fear, etc. come up, I hug and console myself tight to quiet my mind. I've been doing this for the past two months and it's really helped me be comfortable with my sexuality and other parts of myself.

 

I am open to only 2 people, both who I know. Everyone else, doesn't know.

 

I'm totally open about it, but I will say that it took me years of getting comfortable with it to get me to that place. It took a long time and a lot of positive reactions for me to get to the point where I could have the attitude, "This is who I am. You either accept gay Owen or you have no Owen in your life."

But now that I have that attitude, life's pretty swell.

 

I was told recently that if I didn't want people to make a big deal out of something, don't make it a big deal. I'd be 100% open and coming out wouldn't be an issue if people didn't assume that I'm straight, obviously its expected to assume that, but I would feel like I had to correct people early on and then it would make it seem as if that's the only interesting thing to know about me, which I'd like to think it isn't.

 

I told a couple friends that I play with online, and they didn't believe me. So a couple days after I had told them, I was playing with one of them and one of his friends when he asked me if I was being serious about it. I told him that I was and he started asking me questions like: are you bi or flat out gay? When did you know? Is it really a choice? Stuff like that. After about twenty minutes, his friend asked "M (the first letter of my username), are you bi?" I replied with "no, I'm gay." That was the first time I had ever flat out said it and it felt so... right. His response? "WWWWHHHAAAATTTT?!" "Dude, me and H (his friend) have been talking about for the last twenty minutes!" His response was funny, in my opinion.

 

Open to the point, where I tell them I'm gay only if they ask me/tell me that jokingly. For example I came out to this classmate of mine who jokingly calls people 'gay' (he's a supporter, not a biggot ). Him: "...yeah and you're gay, you know that?" Me: "Yeah, I really am! Thanks for noticing!" Him: "You're gay?!?!?! *smiles widely and laughs*" . So yeah, I have nothing to hide, I'm a bit effeminate and although I do "look straight" as much as I hate those phrases, I act pretty much stereotypically gay.

I do keep my mouth shut when I'm around homophobic people, because I tend to get in trouble once I start talking. But otherwise, I'm openly gay and don't make a big deal out of it.

 

Because I'm still married and just in the process of getting myself set up on my own, I like to tell people I know, so they know and so they know why I'm doing what I'm doing. Other than that, I suppose I'd tell a person if it was relavant. I mean, I wouldn't just say, 'oh yeah, I'm gay by the way' just in a normal conversation. What would be the need. I like friends and people who know me to know, anybody else will find out if it's ever raised. What I'm trying to say is that it's in no way a secret.

 

I've told two people, and I'm sure there are few others who just know.
I'm rarely explicit about my sexuality (one of the two friends I've told thinks I'm bi) but I think that after hearing me talk about relationships and general it's pretty obvious.

I honestly wish I could be more comfortable with it.

 

Random friend: Dude, are you gay?
Me:

 

I rarely tell 'old' people, and like to gauge a new person before i tell them, though generally if someone asks i tell them :/

 

I view myself as being completely open, but I do not tell people. I live and expect people will either find out when I bring a woman to the company Christmas dinner or they'll never know because they have no need to know the details of my private life.

 

I wear rainbow wristbands and answer 'I'm bisexual' when asked if I'm gay. to anyone. With the exception of people who've said something unintentionally homophobic, and who I won't meet again. I just feel sorry for these people, who would probably spend the next hour apologising to me if I were to tell them.

 

I haven't had anyone ask me yet, I think because either I'm not obvious, or I never talk about anything personal, that they must feel its none of their business to ask. But I feel like I would be straight forward with my answer. I wish some of my close cycling buddies would just ask! I feel so much more open and relaxed around those that do know, but I'm definitely not at the stage yet to just blurt it out.

 

Eh, If it comes up, I'll chip in but It's not a huge part of me, however important and so it's not a huge part of other people's lives either.

 

Was much more forward about it right after coming out.

These days I tend to come at it from the direction of talking about what my partner and I are doing in the same casual way that a straight person would talk about their spouse or significant other (e.g., We went and did X last weekend. Chris and I go to Costco all the time, etc.) . People either figure it out or ask and I tell them.

Todd

 

I'm out to some family and friends.I'm actually to the point right now where i really don't care anymore and am willing to tell everybody whether they like it or not.I guess thats a good thing?