5 cent post - Out at work

Today y'all have the honor of reading a 5 cent post. I'm approaching end of quarter so I'm spending oodles of time on a pc writing code and haven't had much time to write here.

During my morning and evening commutes I try to read on the el and of late I've been reading 2 books simultaneously: Does your mama know and Hungochani. 2 very different books, one covering coming out stories from the African American lesbian community and the other homosexuality southern African style.

The primary reason for my loggin in today was to write about being out in the work place. I had an online conversation with a lady who was weighing the pros and cons of being out in the workplace.

I am out at work. When I took my current job, I decided that I would not censor myself when it came to my private life. I had no intention of flaunting my sexuality, but I would not use ambiguous terms when discussing the people in my life. When discussing what we did over the weekend, I was not going to say "hung out with a friend" if I had gone on a date with a wee bonny lass. It was something that I did for me. It was also quite freeing. I know all about the office closet and trust me, all that toner and ink in it left me quite light headed most of the time.

It also helped a lot that I was working in an accepting environment and they didn't bat an eyelash when I used she instead of he when discussing mates. At a previous job (more like 2 back) being out could have resulted in my being fired as it was a conservative environment. Come to think of it, at most of my other jobs I spent more time dodging the who are you seeing question than actually answering it. I heard the whispers that followed people who were suspected of being "in that life" and it was never pretty. Now that is not to say people never whispered about me, it's just that I was never shunned outright.

Anyway all this rambling is to say I waited until I had reached a level of comfort with my sexuality at which I was willing put my whole self out there to the general public. It took yet another level of confidence and comfort to simply say I am who I am, hire me or fire me. Yea I lost a few nights of sleep after I had made my resolution, but for me it has been worth it. DO what feels right for you ... if you are feeling the holy ghost of Diana Ross and are feeling like coming out and letting the world know, go ahead. Ultimately it's your happiness that's at stake...

Ty