Today marks the annual observance of National Coming out Day. As I have become a more "seasoned" citizen of the planet, I can say that I have seen many things come and go. I think about what was happening in the LGBT world before April 17, 1993, and since. That was the day that I decided to not lie about it. I was not going to pretend that a huge part of my life did not exist because it made OTHER people feel comfortable. I can make light of that easily today, but I remember how many tears that I shed that night in Seattle some 25 years ago. Getting on that plane back to Texas, I remembered how hard it was to tell people whose love and concern that I thought that I would lose. The anticipation of being ready to handle rejection from people I expect and the ones I did not expect, can be heartbreaking. It certainly does prepare you for any career in show business.
I must say that coming out on stage was the right thing to do for me, too, because it truly did open up the rest of my life. I was able to find a career where being gay was ok. Actually, it was mandatory as the first OUT, African-American, gay man, to be on air talent at Sirius XM for 10 years. At a time when every voice is important, I could have never predicted that MY voice would have been heard all over the country, much less many major places in the world, thanks to the beauty of the internet. If someone would have told me that the bravery to stand in my own truth would have opened the world to me, then I would have never believed them.
For those people that are still struggling to own themselves, or those worried about how their environments will receive them, or better yet, to those that the loss of family and friends will change everything as they know it, Coming Out is never going to be easy. However, hiding in the closet is exhausting and soul killing. Once you have your own sense of independence, like living on your own, making your own money and friends, then you are already there, and coming out will only make your independence stronger. Believe me.
Please enjoy my conversation with
Shawn Hollenbach on his
CLOSET CASES Podcast here:
Also, listen to my entire unedited Closet Cases Set:
