Do you know any virulently homophobic men who turned out to be gay?

Question

Do you have any *firsthand* experience of men who were were extremely bigoted and homophobic, then turned out to be gay? It's generally taken for granted that it happens, but I was wondering what people's personal experiences were.

There's a guy at my church who once stood up in a meeting and said that gay people shouldn't even be allowed to be church members (we're a fairly middle-of-the-road Church of England parish with a handful of gay people in the congregation). A while later one of my friends bumped into him in a gay bar downtown.

PS. Stlstigma, that was me, too! Took 27 years for me though. :¬/

Answer 1

yeah. there was this guy who was my friend but then when i came out he got mad at me and hurt me. so later on he called me on my celphone crying he was appologizing on what he did. and said he was in trouble. i went to look for him and it turns out his sex buddy/so-called boyfriend also hurt him way badly. he was humiliated also as hell when that guy exposed him to other people. i knew i should have just left him there and to suffer because it's what he deserved but i felt so sorry for him that i took him into my arms and took care of him. he became my boyfriend for a while but we broke off 3 months later but we are still good friends/bestfriends to be honest were more than friends less than lovers now

Answer 2

Not firsthand but there have been many many men who came off throughout most of their lives as homophobic, in varying degrees of "virulence" I suppose, who were actually flaming gay on the inside themselves. There was Roy Cohn, a real Right-winger type (even though for some reason he was always a registered Democrat), who had been Joe McCarthy's top assistant during the "Red Scare". He died of AIDS which he contracted through rampantly promiscuous gay sex, all the while publicly raging against gays whenever he got the chance. J Edgar Hoover, Right-winger, and long time FBI leader, was gay, and a cross-dressing drag queen as well. More recently, as someone else mentioned, that Christian (evangelical, or Baptist , or whatever he is) Ted Haggard who used to preach fire and brimstone about gays and lesbians from the pulpit, and secretly was having an affair with a male prostitute, and using crystal meth regularly as well. Even going back into history in the 20th century, the original commander of Hitler's brownshirted Stormtroopers (the "SA") , Ernst Rohm, was a closet queen himself , along with many of the rank and file Brownshirts. Yet I'm fairly certain that , if asked publicly, those Nazis would have vehemently denied that and fulminated against gays. So, yeah, glaring hypocrisy from extreme Right-wingers is clearly nothing new.

Answer 3

Nothing first-hand, but what about that church minister that built a mega-church in Texas? A month or two ago his gay lover found out who whe was, and told the press about their affair, how they did drugs together, etc.

Answer 4

OOOOHHHH Yes, and you know what, I love him more for it now, because he is free and more comfortable but it took alot for him to come out, even to me, his best friend and he always knew how open minded I was....That's why I get so angry with the homophobics, why should it bother you unless you are gay and can't come out. Love you all.

Answer 5

I have not had the misfurtune of befriending someone like you ask about, but almost always they turn out to be gay

Answer 6

Ok, At first I didn't think I knew anyone but a friend of mines dad. He still don't consider himself gay or bi though.

Answer 7

Gosh it happens all the time. Typically they are hiding their true feelings but really wants to have a big stiff one!

Answer 8

Most of the Republicans I know.

Answer 9

Lots... the most homophobic men are ironically queers themselves.

Answer 10

Yes, I know one....
Rev. Ted Haggard