Nevertheless, there are people who prefer to face the intolerance and misconceptions out there and say who they are. These people want to have the same place, rights, and duties in society that other citizens have. Experiences show that after “coming out of the closet,” as declaring one's homosexuality is popularly known, people feel liberated, more emotionally stable, and more tolerant of any type of discrimination. They know that their struggle for acceptance and respect will take time. However, being honest and accepting who you are with dignity is the first step.

Feel free to write your experiences the way you wish. You can use your own ideas, or use the questions below as a guide. In the event you use a question, you should only answer that question. You may also answer several questions in separate entries and allow us to choose the best one for the book. Whatever your preference, only a maximum of 2,000 characters will be published.

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When did you become aware your sexual preference and how did you view it? What reasons did you have for hiding your true sexual preference? How did pretending that you were someone you were not in front of others affect you? When did you decide to tell the truth about your sexuality and face the consequences? What made you tell the truth about your sexuality? Who were the first people you told about your sexuality and why did you tell them? How did people react to your confession about your sexual orientation? What were the consequences of telling people about your sexual orientation? What do you regret or not regret? What advantage or disadvantage do you feel your sexual orientation gives you? Have you kept your homosexuality a secret out of fear of jeopardizing your career? Why or why not? Are you in a heterosexual marriage? Does your spouse know your true sexual orientation? What has your experience been with homosexual couples who want to adopt children? Do you have or want children? Who were your friends before you declared your sexual orientation and who are your friends now? Do you feel that people treat you differently now that they know you are homosexual? What has been the most terrible thing that has happened to you because of your homosexuality? Have you ever been in a heterosexual relationship? What do you think about heterosexuals? What is your experience? What is your opinion of lesbians? What is your experience? What is your opinion of transvestites? What is your experience? What is your opinion of transsexuals? What is your experience? In your opinion, what are the biggest myths about homosexuality? Do you consider yourself promiscuous and/or emotionally unstable? Why or why not? What do you feel about homosexual marriage? Why do you think there are people who oppose gay marriage? How would you describe a homosexual person? In your opinion, how are love and sexual orientation related? With what homosexual person from history do you identify with most and why? Do you think you could be bisexual? Why or why not? What would you say to people who still have not “come out of the closet?” I want to tell my story my way.

Your story or anecdote will be published under a pseudonym or your real name followed by your age, city, state or province, and country in parentheses. Example: Eduardo Duque (age 24, Miami, Florida, USA). It is your choice to use your name or not. However, for administrative purposes, you will need to give contact information. This information is kept confidential. This information will not be published or shared with anyone under any circumstance, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing. See Participation Requirements for more information.

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