Many thanks to one of our readers, Padawan, for contributing this article.

I got a little bit nutty this afternoon, nutty in a sense that I actually considered telling my mom that I am gay.

I do not know what got into me this afternoon, but it never quite struck me before this that I should actually consider letting my mom know the truth regarding sexuality. But why? Well maybe I am just tired of hiding it from her all the time. I have always told her that “I will never get married”…to a man that is, but I never said anything about being married to a woman. I never denied being gay to my mother, and neither did I ever admit that I was straight, ever.

It did occur to me today that there is nothing thats stopping me from changing my status quo in my family. It is just really a matter of whether I wanted to. So what if her youngest daughter suddenly told her that she is gay? I mean, what is the most she could do to me? Throw me out? Disown me? Probably, but not likely – after all, I am her ‘anak kesayangan’ (I admit) since my (straight) siblings have already left the nest.

I think before this, the thought of ‘coming out’ of my parents would seem entirely alien. And by ‘this’ I would mean before graduating and getting a decent job, which I only just begun at this year. Now that I somewhat have control over my finances, its sure as hell is a possibility that I could one day go to my mom and tell her,”‘mom, I don’t like men and I cannot ever be with one”. Maybe…just maybe.

I wonder how many PLUs out there suffer this predicament; parents do not that know you are gay, mom wants to hook you up with so-and-so’s son who is a who’s-who of some company. It must annoy you to bits! And you just want to shout out aloud “Mom I’m gay!’. I address this topic to the boys too. It must be harder for them. If you’re 30 (for example), single, got a good job and gay, mom’s bound to realise that you have never brought any of your ’friends’ home for dinner.

I am quite fortunate to have parents that are quite liberal, liberal in a sense that they do not expect me to find a man and start making babies rightaway. As far as my mother goes, she is completely fine with me remaining single all my life…but me being a lesbian? I am….not so sure though.

The essence of ‘coming out’ is surely not confined to just your family. But I am sure, for many, that is the starting point as gaining acceptance for who you are from the people who are closest to you, surely means alot. But I am sure there are just as many of us who would rather hide the truth from mom and dad simply because we would rather not break their hearts. I think I am quite right to say that most parents would rather not have their children turn out to be gay.

And to be honest I am not sure about this whole ‘coming out’ thing either. Although most of my gay friends do tell me that I have ‘gay’ written all over me. But heck, what do they know, they are just as gay as I am (haha). Plus, I would be darned if people at work knew about how gay I was (very). Which makes me take a step back and look at this whole ‘coming out’ issue more carefully, now I simply would not want my boss or colleagues to know would I?No way.

It seems like I am taking baby-steps at coming out of the closet. It seems after spending 20-odd years in there (I have been gay for as long as I can remember) I have gotten quite comfortable in there, a tad reluctant to step out..perhaps doing it one foot at a time for now, and occasionally stepping back in and shutting the door because I just do not know if it will be okay if I come out.

Occasionally it does get a little lonely in there. I know a part of me feels the need to be addressed by my own ‘team’ someday. It could just be that I am longing to find somewhere I belong in this world. What about you?

I hope you do not think I am pathetic. I have only a handful of PLU friends and all my best friends are straight. I do not hang out at gay clubs because I am not really interested in the gay clubbing scene altogether. What I appreciate is people like you and me, who are realistic about living in this straight straight real world, were we have work, earn and face the boss, come home from work and have dinner with your mother.

I discovered TiltedWorld close to a year ago, and it took me that long to finally say something around here. Well, maybe I am taking baby steps at this whole ‘coming out’ thing, albeit too small of a step maybe. But then again, what is the rush in it? Being gay is about knowing who you are inside, rather than who knows that you are gay.

A close friend of mine, Josh dropped me an email earlier this evening about a video compilation of various people from all around Singapore talking about homosexuality and the wonderful people they know who have embraced it as part of their identity. Suffice to say it caught my eye; it was the promotional piece for the upcoming Pink Dot event to be held in Singapore this coming May 16th – but despite my interest in the event (which I applaud Singaporeans for taking an active stand), I am perhaps more impressed by the spirit of the interviewees who speak of their friends and family with the utmost pride.

Not shame, not fear, nor of anger – but of pride; full distinguished accepting pride. Because pride is after all what we should all feel when it comes to our sexuality, no matter who we are. Sexuality cannot be defined by race, or color, or status, nor nationality even; it is something I feel everyone should understand and learn more about, rather than hide from.

Watching the video, it reminds me of the earlier days I spent trying to open my parents up to life knowing they have a gay son living under their roof. The earlier days my family pretends that my sexuality is something shameful to the family; to speak of it openly, even amongst ourselves is taboo. The video in its own way, now reminds me of the family I have today – who openly acknowledges that I am who I am, and what my dad playfully likes to refer to as the bengkok (literally “bent”) son, whom no matter what – is still family and for that, will always be loved. It is the same spirit I see in them that I see in the video; on the faces of the people who speak of homosexuality and the people they love.

Pride.

In that way, I feel Malaysia has yet a long way to go in these matters – but that doesn’t mean I ever give up hoping for the day we could all stand as one beneath the flag that unites us all as a nation, the same way all Singaporeans stand united in the foreignness that is sexuality. The East, majorly – has a long way to go yet regarding the full acceptance of different sexualities as part of our identities, but as the Western world progresses, so will we.

To that, before I sign off -  I salute and applaud once again to our neighbors in Singapore for this stand for the unity of differences in sexuality. May the 16th of May mark a great victory in your calendar for change, which in some way – I hope will pave the road for the many other nations in the East to someday follow in your footsteps; a statement to the world that sexuality is not a crime nor a defect. It is our identity. Godspeed.

United we stand; in pride we hold.