I landed my first professional post as a journalist before I even graduated from college. A small town newspaper in Missouri hired me on as a sports writer two months before I walked at graduation. My editor worked with my college class schedule until I finally had that diploma in my hand.
It wasn’t exactly an exciting job, especially for a not-so-avid sports fan. But the embarrassingly low-paying gig was an important first step in my new career. And although I had never considered a career as a sports writer at any time in my life, the opportunity gave me a chance to build a portfolio and bulk up my resume. It also taught me the tricks of the newspaper trade.
While I honed my writing skills and dove into layout design, I also taught myself how to interact professionally with coaches, athletes and other journalists. Overall I learned the ropes pretty quicklybut it took me a long time to come out at work. I avoided questions about my personal life and was careful not to get too close to my co-workers. It was several months into my gig not coincidentally around the time I started wearing a wedding band before I quietly told our city reporter about my relationship with my partner.
As our community comes down from an insanely fun and celebratory Pride month, we have a new hero in the news media. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper officially announced he was gay in an email to the blog The Daily Beast released July 2. While many don’t necessarily see Cooper’s announcement as news (we’ve all seen the photos of him and his hunky boyfriend on New York’s streets) others see his announcement as a milestone for LGBTs nationwide. Finally we have a well-respected journalist who can share his sexuality openly and without consequence.
Some would argue that Cooper’s decision to come out now at 50 years old and at the peak of his career is anything but brave. In fact, I’ve heard several people say that his action is the opposite of brave and that he should have come out of the closet 25 years ago when he was a young adult still finding his way professionally. Instead of celebrating the courage of someone in the media spotlight to be honest, too many want to immediately condemn him for waiting too long to share his story.
Cooper has long avoided any talk about his personal life. He said he changed his mind recently, however, because staying silent on certain aspects of his life may bring people to believe he’s ashamed or afraid of who he is.
This is distressing because it is simply not true, he said in the e-mail.
As a young professional, I was scared as to how my boss and my employer would react to the news that I was in a same-sex relationship. I was also concerned as to how the people I interacted with on a daily basis coaches, athletes, etc. would react if they learned I was gay.
By the time I left that Missouri newspaper and began packing for my move to Florida in 2000, I had come out to the entire staff and management. While my editor and I did not see eye-to-eye, it had nothing to do with my sexuality or my relationship. My sexuality also had no bearing on my relationship with the publisher, who tried to get me to stay on at the publication.
After my relocation, I began work as a business writer in Florida and I had to decide again whether I should come out of the closet. That decision was easy and within my first week everyone I encountered knew the new guy was gay.
Coming out professionally is different for all of us and we all must do it at our own pace. Is it important to come out of the closet at work? Definitely. The more people who personally know a person in the LGBT community are more likely to support equality for us. Coming out can only be good in the long run.
But we can’t be too quick to judge those who take a little longer to address their sexuality especially when they are in the national spotlight like Anderson Cooper. Coming out is a personal journey, and it’s never our responsibility to direct it for others.
