Shock, Guilt, and Privilege: On Being a Masculine Gay Man

by Toni Reed on Unsplash

“So, Mr. Beach. Is there a special lady out there for ya?” asked one of my community college students. I’d given them time to make progress on a paper when this student spoke up.

I took a second to consider my answer since I’d begun the process of coming out about a year before this. My answer could represent a brave moment in one direction or a perpetuation of the…