Closets Are for Clothes

This study qualitatively investigates the coming out narratives of twelve gay men and focuses specifically on how the gay individual perceived his family members’ reactions to his coming out. It allows for a better understanding of sexual orientation disclosure by gay men within the context of the family and aims to make sense of the meaning found in familial reactions to a gay child’s or relative’s coming out. Four core themes were consistently found in the interviews with gay men: the unprompted mentioning of traditional family values, coming out to friends and/or siblings before coming out to parents, familial reactions improving as time progressed, and the presence of other gay family members within the disclosing individual’s family.