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Ta-da!

Dallas has known for a while, but I am hereby coming out (albeit only online) as a gay atheist.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Friend of Dorothy on July 4, 2010 at 8:54am

Free at last, free at last, thank DOG almighty free at last!! Welcome Richard, I myself had a hard time getting up the courage to openly post (on my Facebook) that I was a Gay, Atheist, Liberal, Grandfather. But with a little thought, I said, Hell, if they don't know, they should, and if they don't like it, dont let the door...etc. etc. You and your comments are more than welcome here...P.S have a great Holiday.

Permalink Reply by Richard Healy on July 4, 2010 at 9:32am

Well I'm not in the US, so tomorrow is just the 4th, but thanks all the same. :-)

My Facebook status currently says "it's complicated." which is true.

It also also says Godless heretic, atheist, rationalist, sceptic freethinker.

Meeting up with someone next week (I dropped a 'hint' to them that we should maybe get together ("we are going to have to do something about this unresolved sexual tension" was the precise phrase I believe I used.) Happily they've agreed. ^_^

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on July 4, 2010 at 10:06am

Richard,

Oh wow! One of my favorite people on Nexus turns out to be gay as well! Fantastic!

We only get one life, might as well live it to the fullest.

I don't even remember when I came out. I think I had been living for some time with my buddy at the time, sleeping in the same bed with him and engaging in all variety of biblically forbidden practices, and happened on a book about being gay, at a local bookstore. I thought, "that's not me, I'm just head-over-heels in love with this guy and he totally turns me on and I want to stay with him and I've only ever been sexuallly interested in men. But I'm not gay!". Such is the power of denial.

Now it's time to work out that unresolved sexual tension thing. And if anticipation is more exciting than the reality, well, take one day at a time and see what YOU are happiest with.

Best wishes to you and congrats on your next step.

Permalink Reply by Richard Healy on July 4, 2010 at 10:16am

Hi Dan :-)

*hug* Aww thanks, chuckles. Well we are fabulous, there is no denying it.

This has been on the cards for a while but has been coming to a head since about December. The same Someone was involved then too.

I'm just coming to accept that I like guys. For a while I migrated through the "Am I bisexual?" phase and some people genuinely are and more power to them.

But I'm not.

And it's about damn time I got around to admitting it and embracing it.

Permalink Reply by Dave P on July 4, 2010 at 11:47am

Yay! Welcome to the club old bean.

Permalink Reply by Richard Healy on July 4, 2010 at 1:16pm

I recognise that initial.

Permalink Reply by J S H on July 5, 2010 at 12:04am

Hey, that's wonderful! Don't hesitate to write if you need to, that's what joined the group at the same time buddies are all about.

Permalink Reply by Richard Healy on July 5, 2010 at 1:44am

Thank you.

I've been charting my coming out and going on dates with guys over on a forum on About.com and coming here to debate atheism, saw the group in the latest activity feed and thought - we'll it's probably about time I brought these two things together.

Permalink Reply by sacha on July 5, 2010 at 12:24am

What a relief it must be. Congratulations! Enjoy your new freedom.

Permalink Reply by Richard Healy on July 5, 2010 at 1:55am

Although I've come out under various guises on the internet and recently to one friend, that leaves a whole slew of other people whom I've not told, which include all the biggies, parents, siblings, friends. He's an apostate ex-muslim who doesn't believe in god, so I think he gets the whole "How do explain this to my family?" vibe.

And his reaction was: "really? Oh okay."

I'd tried telling him a few times, each time the words just died in my throat and It wasn't helping that he is a straight as they come so every time I was out with him as he'd get drunker, you'd get comments like "Cor did you see the tits on her?"

And of course I hadn't, I'd been staring at the cute guy opposite with the large hands... ^_^

And had to quickly feint a reply: Who...oh her...um yeah...

So that was a relief.

Another friend has espied my Facebook status - and is demanding to know "who SHE is?"

That one I'm dreading more than most.

So it's a relief to start being honest, and not have to hide, and to run with how I feel rather than away, but it's the strangest thing that something so simply to say could be so difficult.

Permalink Reply by Ally on July 6, 2010 at 4:54pm