mysid

Hm. I'm older than you, and I knew gays and lesbians who were out of the closet in college. In fact, I ran around with one gay man. I was always hyper aware of who was gay, and who wasn't. He would confirm my suspicions, usually. I just knew. I also got hit on myself. Where I'm from, it wasn't exactly legal. Still isn't. It's not likely to be a problem unless you engage in public sex, or if you're a high profile hypocrite. I think the reason everyone feels so comfortable in coming out despite the laws and despite the ultra-religious right having a big influence here, is that bad manners are considered worse than sodomy-at least in practice, lol. I know that some people have moved from allegedly more liberal states, and have felt more comfortable being out here. I'm not saying this place is a paragon of tolerance, because it isn't. Disapproval is high here, it's just rarely put into action. I can remember my mom telling me about some gay men who flirted openly with each other in her workplace's cafeteria, no consequences for it either, and that was back in the sixties. My dad was hyper aware of gays, but not as just being curious as to who was dating material and who wasn't, unfortunately. Maybe that's the reason I caught on to it at a very young age.