Ex-gay men are often closeted, fearing ridicule from gay advocates who accuse them of self-deception and, at the same time, fearing rejection by their church communities as tainted oddities.
This population not only severely lacks media representation of what two men can do together, but they face additional barriers of noncomprehensive sexual health education, prejudice that keeps them closeted for fear of repercussion, and difficulty locating sexual partners during adolescence to explore their sexuality.
Fear of the dark, fear there's something in the closet, fear there's someone under your bed waiting to grab your ankle when you sit up," Stine said.
The unspoken reasoning behind this rests on two assumptions: first that there are perhaps only a very small number of elite sportsmen who have remained closeted out of fear of the repercussions of coming out, but second and more significantly that such fears, along with the entrenched culture of professional sports, deter gay players from ever reaching the top level.
It now has chapters in 22 cities across Russia, and more than 800 officially registered members, including three Olympic-level athletes who are publicly closeted because they fear losing lucrative sponsorships or coveted spots on teams.
During an interview with NPR, Karen Sumberg, an economist who conducted the research, stated that most of the closeted individuals expressed fear of career reprisals as the reason why they hid their sexual orientation and gender identity.
A win would directly challenge the fears of many closeted gay boxers, who fear being shunned by fans, by the boxing community, and a victory could also spur increased interest in boxing from the LGBT community.
Flying home, I pondered whether I was closeted because I feared losing my job or because I was ashamed.
I was still deeply closeted, still living in fear that I would be found out, with absolutely no idea how many wonderful things life had in store for me in the years to come.
I doubt Mamet would ever make the connection but Mantegna's situation seemed akin to a closeted gay man who fears everyone already knows he is gay and sees hidden meaning in every innocuous comment from friends and family.
Finally, even if we start calling heterosexual people who "do bisexual stuff" bisexual (and hopefully we wouldn't do that just for political gain but in order to genuinely reach out to those we fear might be closeted and suffering in the closet), we need to ask ourselves whether the LGBT movement/nonprofit system is ready for such a huge influx of bisexual people.
