Guest Author day with Sharita Lira

Should Gay Male Celebrities Come Out the Closet?

Sharita Lira

I recall when I first began writing m/m romance, not knowing a hell of a lot, only what I’d read or seen. When you take on the task to write something foreign, you learn a lot of things. I’m a hetero woman writing something I’ll never experience personally; being a gay man in a mostly “straight” world. I recall just a little over a year ago, how I thought celebrities should come out the closet so it would teach gay teens and adults they’re not afraid of the consequences; that they’re willing to stand up for themselves and their community. Why the hell would you want to hide who you are? Living in the shadows does no good does it? How can you live with yourself?

Well ever since then, I’ve read a lot more books, some nonfiction, articles, and paid attention to news reports about the various issues gay men face. Have you seen some of the nonsense coming from politicians and so called Christians? The accusations about gay men being rapists, perverts, going as far as to damn them to hell because they love another man.

Of course, this isn’t new news but as Pres O as I like to call him and others have begun standing up for GLBT rights, these weasels are coming out the woodwork with their radical views of hatred and unfortunately, making headlines in the newspapers. I’m not going to place the blame on one party either. Surely there are people on both sides who feel the same and probably won’t say anything fearing a backlash from voters.

Still, this is rather alarming right? People showing hatred towards you because you love someone of your own gender. They’re trying to change you by sending you away to some religious camp. Electric shocks? A stern talk from your family pastor? Beatings from parents and even sometimes, complete abandonment. Oh this is only the tip of the iceberg.

No wonder gay men as a whole, celebrity or not haven’t come out the closet. There are so many things they risk by doing so; their jobs, their privacy, and in a lot of cases their lives. Who’d want to be the constant subject of scrutiny when trying to do any kind of job? For celebs, their lives are already exposed to the media and some can’t and don’t handle it every well. But being an outed celeb, actor, model, and oh especially someone in sports just opens up a bigger can of worms. So to save their career and themselves from the grief of being blacklisted, they stay gay in the shadows, keeping their partners in the closets with them. That really is no way to live but it’s done and all because people can’t accept that love is love.

Someday I hope this won’t be a big issue. I pray that people would get rid of their prejudiced views towards the GLBT community as a whole but for some reason, I feel the civil rights fight will never be won. People of color still have problems living in certain parts of the world and as for celebs of color there are many that can’t get work because of their race. If that hasn’t been resolved, there isn’t much hope that for the GLBT community either. Unfortunately, that leaves many gay men with no choice but to stay hidden.

However, there are some positive examples of gay male celebs that have come out. You know some of them. Matt Bomer, Neil Patrick Harris, Ricky Martin, George Michael, Anderson Cooper, Adam Lambert, and the list goes on. They made the choice to come out and show their real selves to the world and in looking at this, I can say, it really is a personal choice male celebs or not have to make. A really tough decision that involves more than just them but anyone associated with them. Whatever they decide, I hope it’s one that makes them the happiest and the most comfortable.

Don’t stop living because of the hatred. Live your life for you and the one you love.

My latest book is under Michael Mandrake called Guardian Angel. A story about a young man fighting with the fears of coming out.

Blurb: Calvin is looking to end it all because he feels his family won't accept him as a gay man. Unbeknownst to him, someone is watching, looking to pick him up and rescue him from his negative state. Can Calvin get help before it’s too late? 

This is a story of coming out and accepting who you are. Remember, you are normal and you are not alone.

Half the proceeds for this book go to It Gets Better and Broadway Youth Center.

Buyinks: Smashwords   OmniLit  Amazon

Chapter One

“No one will ever love you or respect you. You can’t be Calvin Williams Jr. and be gay! You’ll be rejected; your family will never accept it!”

Alone in the driver’s seat, Calvin Williams squinted as warm tears streamed down his cheeks. His heart was so heavy he could hardly breathe. He stared at the forty-five caliber gun he took from his father’s lock box and licked the salty droplets from his lips. His mouth was dry like the Sahara, and perspiration formed on his brow despite the cool breeze seeping through the cracked window.

Calvin sucked in a huge amount of air, trying to compose himself. It’s for the best. They’ll never understand. They’ll hate you and make your life a living hell! “I know…I wanna die right now! I’m gonna do it…I’m gonna…”

Just as he stretched his shaky hand out, his cellphone vibrated in his jacket pocket, startling him. He gulped hard and wiped his hand with his sleeve. “Yeah.”

“Calvin?” A tired but concerned voice on the other end sounded through the handset.

“What is it, Brenda?” Calvin turned the key to shut off the ignition.

“Where are you, bro? Been calling you for the last two hours. Ever since you told me…”

“M’fine, sis. Just thinking, that’s all. I needed some time to myself, you know? To sort out things.”

“Calvin, it’s gonna be okay. I told you, you gotta tell mom and dad. They love you, they’ll…”

“No way,” Calvin shook his head vehemently. Just thinking about telling his father about his orientation made him shudder. “No, Bren. Dad makes jokes about homosexuals all the time, along with the rest of the men in our family. It’s probably already a dead giveaway since I like to cook and I’m not into sports.”

“Calvin, you stop that nonsense talk now! Plenty of men who aren’t gay cook and don’t like sports. We can get you someone to talk to. The counselors at school…”

“Brenda, all of them are good friends with dad. They’ll tell him, and I can’t have that!” Calvin slammed the steering wheel hard with his free hand before running it over his head. “I can’t do this, sis. I can’t be a Williams' man and be gay.”

“Yes you can, Calvin. Now, please, come home right now so we can talk a little more. I’ve been worried about you ever since we had the conversation a couple of days ago.”

That was most likely true. Brenda was the only person who knew about Calvin’s latest revelation. He knew he could trust Brenda not to tell anyone his secret.

Still, how long would that last? Would Brenda get so worried that she’d tell the counselors or their parents herself?

“Calvin? You still there?” Brenda’s voice trembled.

“Yeah, I’m coming upstairs. I just pulled into the driveway. Are mom and dad home?”

“No, they went to a church social with Pastor Leahy.”

Oh boy.

And yet another person who couldn’t find out about Calvin’s orientation. Pastor Allan Leahy: aka Bible thumping, bigoted, preacher who constantly spoke against gays and lesbians, likening them to being children of Satan. Knowing how he spewed that constant hate from the pulpit, his parents would never accept the fact Calvin was gay. He was positive of that. Surely they’d want the pastor to interfere, to pray the gay away, or worse, send him off to one of those Christian camps they always sent sinning young people to. Calvin didn’t need that. He needed support, guidance, and someone to listen to his feelings.

With these adverse thoughts in his head, negative reactions from his parents and outsiders would do nothing but make him feel worse. Calvin knew he was on the edge, ready to end it all, and needed someone to pull him away.

Author Sharita Lira: In one word, crazy. Just crazy enough to have 3 different muses running around in her head, driving her to sheer exhaustion with new plot bunnies and complex characters.

This happily married mother of two beautiful children loves music, computers, reading, and still enjoys reading and writing fanfiction. She’s a proud member of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for rights of LGBT citizens.  She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal ezine Fourteeng.net.

For more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The Literary Triad.

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