Word Is Out

Twenty-six U.S. homosexuals of various ages and backgrounds are interviewed, they who speak candidly about their sexual orientation in this era just a few years after the initial gay liberation at Stonewall. They speak of when they first knew of their sexual orientation and what that actually meant to them during a time when there were few open outlets or supports for homosexuals in U.S. society. Some speak of the added pressures if the acknowledgment of being homosexual was during one's adolescent period, when there is enough pressure from adolescence in and of itself. They also speak of the period of disclosure - for some, this process being involuntary - with many who were treated as having a mental disorder and the resulting fear or anger associated with the treatment. Into their disclosed period, they needed to figure out where in society they fit, whether it be in relation to their sweet-hearts, to friends or society in general. To each person or group, these roles could be totally different. They speculate on their future as homosexuals based on their experiences and the state of homosexual acceptance in U.S. society.