Coming Out a Thousand Times
June 21, 2011. 10:22 pm
Posted by: Jillian Page
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/06/21/coming-out-a-thousand-times-2/ (http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/06/21/coming-out-a-thousand-times-2/)
(Take 2) In an article on the NPR site in the U.S., writer and journalist Mary Buckheit talks about how she finds herself "coming out" as a gay person time and time again: "You come out to your best friend, and then to your sister, and then to your roommate, and your priest, and again to your co-workers, and to your grandmother, and your physician, and your electrician, and your cable guy." And in Mary's case, as a journalist: the world.
I think transitioning people, ie. transsexuals, can relate to what she is saying to the nth degree. While a gay person doesn't necessarily have to tell everyone about his or her sexual preference, a transitioning person really has little choice about telling people of a gender switch. It was something I resented having to do when I came out to my colleagues. You can read about it in the very first post entry in this blog. But, I felt I owed them an explanation for the sudden change in my presentation and my name, eh?