




Yet I was still closeted at work. I didn’t pretend to be straight; I was just silent, which was ironic, since ACT UP’s main catchphrase was “Silence Equals Death”. I came out as gay to only 3 people on the job during this period, timidly testing the waters.
I came out officially on the Monday morning after The 1988 March On Sacramento. I was working at D.I.C. again, on “ALF” and “Alftails”. While we were settling in at our desks, a fellow artist asked me what I had done that weekend.
I thought, “When am I going to start being honest if not now?” So I told him. He asked, “Why did you do that?” “Because I’m Gay”, I replied to him and the six or seven other artists within earshot.
My career didn’t end. I wasn’t fired or ostracized.
However, I discovered the weird thing about coming out is that it never ends. I’d assumed that once I did it the first time that I’d never have to do it again. However, I seem to have to wrestle with it every time I meet someone or find myself in a new situation. Now I deal with it by referring to my “spouse” when I talk about my life. If people make gender assumptions, I politely correct them.
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