"I came out of the closet while writing the [Tales Of The City] series. And
what
a revelation to realise that the thing that I had feared the most had
become
the source of my greatest inspiration and the cause of my success. My
mother
said to me, 'I don't mind you being honest, darling, I just don't want
it to
hurt your career.' I said, 'You don't understand, this is my career.' I
knew
very early in the game that my responsibility was to be publicly,
openly,
happily gay. That wasn't hard to do. I don't suffer closeted folks
gladly. I
let them know, especially if they're famous, that I think they have a
responsibility. Years ago my friend Ian McKellen asked me how I felt
about
it and he told me that the evening he spent talking to me was what
pushed
him over the edge. I'm really proud of that...
"I have been conscious of being part of a cultural revolution
for the past 35 years. There's no question that it's easier in some
ways
because gay folks aren't invisible any more. When I was young, many of
us
thought we were the only gay in the village. Now, because of that
visibility, there's a much more concerted campaign against gay people,
especially from the fundamentalist segments of America, and that means the
pressure is much worse. Still, the polls now indicate that most
Americans
support the right for people to marry the person that they love. The
battle
hasn't been won yet, but we're close."
Armistead Maupin,
Daily Telegraph.
Amused me to see the intro refer to his husband.
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