I was a sorcerer in AD&D. Here I hope to be interesting--at least to someone.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Come Out or Be Outed?

What kind of choice is that? It’s kind of like telling a person, “Admit you’re a communist, or we’ll tell everyone you are” (remember Senator Joe McCarthy?).

Honestly, a person does have the right to a private life, no matter what his / her job is. Also, who has the right to invade the privacy of someone simply because he / she is related to a famous person? Does the press have the right to invade the privacy of a family just because that family has a movie star in its midst? Of course not! And telling a senator’s lesbian daughter that she will be outed—simply because her father is a senator –is as much an invasion of her privacy as a government requiring all homosexuals to register and wear a pink triangle at all times.

I, myself, have never really had this problem. Mind, I spent an early part of my life fearful of being accused of homosexuality by my peers, and I often regret coming out as late as I did, but I do not regret having the time to make that choice on my own.

No one should ever be outed against their will. Outing is a personal thing, an acceptance from one’s own perspective; an often difficult step on the path to maturity. This is a part of a person’s life that should never be forced. Just as a doctor should never give a prepubescent child hormones in order to force an early puberty, no one should ever reveal another person’s homosexuality unless given permission to do so by that person.

Just my opinion.