Announcements. Ranging from a banal announcement in the supermarket to something very personal you want to confide in someone, announcements are all around us. Everyone, no matter what age or gender, has to make certain revelations about his- or herself during life.
Announcements can be difficult. I, as being gay, am very aware of that. Depending on how accepted the subject is you are going to reveal, and how accepting the people you're telling it to are, announcements can evolve into coming-outs. The less accepting your environment and culture is, the harder it gets.
A woman of 30 years old has to tell her parents that she's pregnant. A major announcement, but not exactly close to a coming-out.
When this woman of 30 years old announces that she's going to be a mother in less than 9 months, very likely no one will have any objections. Our culture says it's okay to have children. When the very same woman doesn't have a husband in a social setting or religion that implies to being married before having children, she's very likely to stumble upon more negative reactions. Her announcement slowly transforms into a coming-out. And what if she was only 15 years old and still attending school? A coming-out that parallels admitting that you're gay.
Coming-outs are all about adjusting your social image to others around you. You give people information about yourself, on which they will or will not judge you. Whether you're telling that you're pregnant, gay, suicidal or something else, the basic foundation of coming-out essentially stays the same, although no coming-out is the same in difficulty.
Last night, someone very close to me told me about his occasional drug use. An announcement? Certainly not.
Announcements can be difficult. I, as being gay, am very aware of that. Depending on how accepted the subject is you are going to reveal, and how accepting the people you're telling it to are, announcements can evolve into coming-outs. The less accepting your environment and culture is, the harder it gets.
A woman of 30 years old has to tell her parents that she's pregnant. A major announcement, but not exactly close to a coming-out.
When this woman of 30 years old announces that she's going to be a mother in less than 9 months, very likely no one will have any objections. Our culture says it's okay to have children. When the very same woman doesn't have a husband in a social setting or religion that implies to being married before having children, she's very likely to stumble upon more negative reactions. Her announcement slowly transforms into a coming-out. And what if she was only 15 years old and still attending school? A coming-out that parallels admitting that you're gay.
Coming-outs are all about adjusting your social image to others around you. You give people information about yourself, on which they will or will not judge you. Whether you're telling that you're pregnant, gay, suicidal or something else, the basic foundation of coming-out essentially stays the same, although no coming-out is the same in difficulty.
Last night, someone very close to me told me about his occasional drug use. An announcement? Certainly not.
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