Jeremy Webster, Gay
Associate Professor - English

INVOLVEMENTS AT OU: 
Faculty advisor - Open Doors, Co-Chair – OUT@WORK

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE OUT or TO BE AN ALLY?
We can only change our culture by being out, by actively participating in our culture as gay lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

WHY ARE YOU “PROUD”?  WHAT ARE YOU MOST “PROUD” OF? 
I am proud to be a contributing member of the Athens GLBTQA community. I am especially proud that I can make this contribution by teaching Lesbian and Gay Literature in the Department of English, a course that helps younger GLBTQ people better understand our history and our contributions to American culture.

WHAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF COMING OUT? 
The most difficult part of coming out was telling my parents that I am gay. While I knew that my parents would always love me, I also knew that coming out to them would fundamentally change the way they looked at me and the way they interacted with me. Deciding that I had to live my life for me instead of for them, or anyone else, was the moment that I started becoming a man and not just their son.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO COME OUT? 
Coming out, in the sense of accepting and loving yourself for who you are and sharing who you are with your friends and loved ones, is often a euphoric process – carry a litte of that euphoria with you everyday for the rest of your life.