Coming Out Story
It was the mid 1970s when I, as a queer, closeted teen, secretly listened to Sunshine Gaydreams, a gay public affairs program on WXPN. Fast forward 20 years and I found myself hosting the same slot. The show morphed itself into Q’zine, a queer arts and culture magazine.
Regardless of the shift in the program’s name and content, one thing was clear: LGBT radio was still reaching a large segment of closeted members of our community. Each month, I would hear from a gay or lesbian teen who was grateful to be able to tune in. Even as the mainstream media started to embrace queer culture with “Ellen,” “Will & Grace” and the ground-breaking “Queer as Folk” series, there was still a large closeted segment of LGBT citizens, many under the age of 21.
The fact was, even though things had changed in the public eye as far as LGBT acceptance and queer sensibilities, coming out was still a painfully personal decision; one we’ve been reminded about with the recent rash of LGBT suicides across America. Just this week yet another young gay man, Corey Jackson, a 19 year old from the University of Michigan, was found dead on school grounds after hanging himself on the same day millions around the country wore purple to show their support of gay youth.
Because of these recent tragedies, I decided it was time to revisit a very personal project of mine. In 2005, I launched The OUTspoken Project, a first-person audio series designed to encourage and inspire closeted listeners to come out and share their own stories. It ran for a few years as part of Q’zine, but admittedly took a backseat to other new endeavors. For awhile, it seemed as if young gay and lesbian people were more empowered than ever.
However, with Dan Savage’s “It gets better” campaign front and center, I’ve been inspired to dust off The OUTspoken Project and am asking for you to share your story.
You can be freshly out of the closet, or perhaps coming out was something you did years ago. The story can be as anonymous as it needs to be. All I need is your first name, age and in what part of the country you live. The rest of the story is yours to tell.
I will be recording these stories in our Philadelphia studios at World Cafe Live, the home of WXPN-FM, using a standard telephone line. So all you need is a phone and a little alone time to share your coming out story.
The project will be ongoing and broadcast both regionally within the Greater Philadelphia area on WXPN-FM, and also online as mp3 downloads on our website.
My hope is that your words, your stories, will help other young closeted teens avoid tragedy and take important, necessary steps toward self-acceptance and coming out on their own terms.
If you’d like to be part of this important project, email qzine@xpn.org and include a brief summary of your personal coming out experience along with your first name, age and state.
I expect to receive a large number of people wanting to share their stories, so please be patient. Every story is important. And I will reply to everyone.
Robert Drake is a longtime DJ at WXPN-FM where he hosts Land of the Lost, a monthly four-hour rock block of music from the 80s. He’s been spinning new wave sounds when they were new wave sounds, and working in clubs since 1981 in Philadelphia. He also hosts Sex Dwarf every first Friday at Fluid and promotes bands and special music events throughout the region.
