"When I Knew"

A book of stories and quotes from people when they realized they were gay. Edited by Robert Trachtenberg.

[1] "I knew I was gay when the most exciting part of my Bar Mitzvah was meeting with the party planner."

[2] "1969. My father was watching the evening news. The announcer said that Judy Garland had died. I fainted. I was nine." Andrew Freedman

[3] So, my mother began the conversaqtion. "Well, I was watching 'Oprah' last week, and the show was about married men who turned out to be gay." A lump sank through my throat. She continued, "And Oprah said something that made a lot of sense to me."

"If you walk like a duck and quack like a duck, usually you're a duck," recited my mother. I quickly closed my eyes and prayed for an opportunity to escape her presence, but she had somehow found the courage. "Are you a duck, Darin?" Darin Johnson

[4] "When my mom told me on the phone that she and dad had just seen the movie 'Philadelphia' I knew it was time. I asked her if she was sitting down. She knew right away what I was about to tell her, and immediately shouted "...Oh, no, but you watch football!" Larry Wiedemann

[5] "1967. I was lying on the floor of the livingroom, watching an episode of the 'Tarzan' series. I kept sliding closer to the TV, sort of looking under it, trying to see under Tarzan's loincloth. Seven years old, go figure." Jeff Judd