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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!eagle!allegra!root
From: root@allegra.UUCP (root)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: forwarded message
Message-ID: <2279@allegra.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12-Feb-84 04:10:09 EST
Article-I.D.: allegra.2279
Posted: Sun Feb 12 04:10:09 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Feb-84 04:36:27 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 29

People have been talking a lot about coming out.  Coming out to
everyone is a big step, but what is disapointing is that many gays
cannot come out to other gays.  Specifically, I am thinking of the gay
talk group at the place where I work.  It is doing well, but the number
of people in it is clearly a very tiny fraction of the gay population
at our lab (thousands of people work here!).

I know one case of a guy who met another member of his department at a
gay bar.  The other fellow was very upset and started avoiding the
first guy completely.  I guess I was like that as an undergraduate.  I
had the chance to attend gay-student meetings but chose instead to just
feel miserable (even thought my roommate and I were lovers).

Here is my advice to isolated gay people:

1. Check out counceling services at work.  I know at AT&T Bell Labs,
they are very good at helping gay people and will also get you in touch
with gay therapists or with the gay talk group if you want to.  Of
course, they are highly discrete.

2. Get in touch with the talk groups, if there are any.  They are also
quite discrete.  It really helps a lot to know other people; to
recognize a few faces in the hallways.

Of course, the first step is to face the fact that you are gay.  If you
choose to see a counceller, they will let you take that step very
slowly.

					"Lance"