I was very, very lucky: Coming to terms with my sexuality was a smooth transition for me, and I owe that to the struggle that all of the gay men and women who came before me had to endure. I was living in New York and my friends were all quite liberal and in the arts, and so I did not actually ever have to “come out,” so to speak, as I was never really in the closet. My parents were very accepting, and in New York, being gay or bisexual was considered kind of cool—or at least it was with my circle of friends. I even had straight friends in college who pretended to be bisexual, as they thought it made them more interesting. This, of course, all changed when AIDS began to ravage the gay community.
It is amazing how far we have come in our culture. The fact that after 30 years as a couple, Richard and I were able to be married for the last five years of our lives together—and that my son Jack thinks nothing of the fact that he has two dads—is wonderful. (In fact, he realized one day that Richard and I were not married when he was born, and he glared at me and said, “What?! You two had me when you were not married?” It was having him out of wedlock that was shocking. Richard and I laughed and laughed about that.)
The one thing that I do worry about: We seem to be taking a step back in this country regarding human rights and everyone’s freedom to simply be themselves without judgment. I hope and pray that we manage to keep moving forward in our acceptance of individuality and of everyone’s right to live their lives in an open and honest way—and to have the freedom to love whomever they choose.
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