Everybody knew me as a gay man, and in my life in London, I never tried to hide.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I have lived my life very openly, and have never hidden the fact that I am gay!
If I was gay, why would I hide it?
In the '50s and '60s, the life of a gay man was a secret. Homosexuality was illegal, so you didn't draw attention to yourself.
Discovering I'm gay just sort of happened much later in life.
It wasn't a secret that I was gay. I'd come out to my parents during my junior year of high school, on the day that I also wrecked the family car.
I knew that I was gay, I knew it. I just couldn't see myself as a gay woman, even though that's where my heart was.
I'm not saying that being gay is what defines me, but at the same time, if you feel like you have to hide it, then it becomes what defines you. You keep it hidden, and the secret becomes you.
I always knew I was gay. I always knew that somehow it would work out.
For gay people, we learned about our lives in secrecy and a lot of fear.
I didn't know any gay people in my childhood.