Coming out in print.

The Advocate's tradition of featuring the coming-out stories of celebrities and everyday readers is one that dates back to the launch of National Coming Out Day in 1988. In the first annual coming-out issue, novelist Larry Duplechan described how in 1974 he was "just another 18-year-old black gay college freshman at UCLA," working at McDonald's to pay the bills. On his birthday a handsome 30-year-old district manager named Robert offered him a ride home. Later in Duplechan's dorm room they kissed. "I'd been waiting all my life for that kiss," Duplechan wrote. "I'll never forget Robert. Or the present he gave me."

Writer Alana Corsini took a longer route. By the early 1970s she had graduated from college and had been through numerous relationships with men. Then, during a surprisingly awkward visit with her college friend, Jenny, the two recognized their desire for each other. "We rubbed, we rolled, we laughed, and finally we shared wondrous tears," she recalled, adding, "I suddenly understood that my entire life had changed."