Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Greenblatt on January 7, 2012 at 8:58pm

Diabetes always comes out first. I have put up with a great deal of prejudice over the years and I am not apparently gay, so I like to let people get to know me first as a person. It is usually not long before one of my co-workers will out me, which saves me the trouble.

Permalink Reply by Mike on January 7, 2012 at 9:00pm

I'd like to say that neither my sexuality or my diabetes DEFINE me...but my sexuality and my diabetes sway my character much more than say my hair color or height. Additionally, these influential attributes are things that people can't necessarily see unless their told.

I haven't been "in the closet" about any part of my life for at least ten years. That being said, I don't wear "I'm a homosexual" or "I've got Type 1 Diabetes" t-shirts (unless you count my Big Blue Test shirt). Many times I just allow either topic (my homosexuality or my busted pancreas) to just come out on it's own.

I started a new job in 2011 and diabetes came up first, but the rest of me came out soon after. I'm working in a tech-related job and my blog and YouTube channel were quickly found by my internet-savy coworkers.

It's strange but I feel that gay-myths are easier to dispell and control than diabetes-myths. So if I had to choose, I'd come out of the gay closet before the diabetes closet. Either way, closets are too stuffy for me!

Permalink Reply by Theunha on January 8, 2012 at 9:33am

Diabetes comes up first. I started a new job in October last year, and on the 3rd day I felt a low blood sugar coming on, fortunately being a pastry chef, there was lots to eat. The head chef wasn't happy that he didn't know, and called me in to ask me questions about it, "how do you control it? how often do you get these lows? do I need to keep an ambulance on standby for you? what special treatment does it demand?" told him about my injection times, 2ce in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening, not often at all, no need for an ambulance, and no special treatment, I might occasionally take an apple to munch on.
The kitchen team says they suspected that I'm gay, because I'm in pastry(lame excuse) but I only actually told them in beginning November. Now I have nicknames like fairy, and princess... immature peeps! hehe

Permalink Reply by Mike on January 8, 2012 at 9:36am

Interesting.

I've always told my bosses about my D too. But I always feel strange telling EVERYONE particularly because I hate the Diabetes Police and I don't want ignorant people making comments every day at lunch.

Are there a lot of gay pastry chefs? I'm not familiar with that stereotype.

Permalink Reply by Theunha on January 8, 2012 at 9:57am

Well, everyone now knows what to do if I have a low, sometimes you just get to busy to eat, or since I'm such a goldfish, I forget(time flies when you have a very long prep list to work through and service is starting in an hours time).
I'm not sure, but mostly pastry chefs are women. because it is finer detail work, cakes, desserts, breads, petit fours, macaroons and lots of other sweet stuff. I'm Pastry Chef de Partie, the head pastry chef is a lady, and there is another pastry chef de partie, also a guy, but he is straight, he just likes sugar and chocolate, and it gives him an edge with girls, they love the stuff we make in pastry....
The other guys in the kitchen are all about the big chunks of meat, and starters main courses etc...

This is one of the desserts: Pistachio nougat, with strawberry mousse, turkish delight, pistachio dust, strawberry dust and rose geranium ice cream.

Permalink Reply by Mike on January 8, 2012 at 10:02am

Wowzer!! Looks awesome. I've never had Turkish Delight...but I know of it because the Ice Queen in The Chronicles of Narnia used it to lure kids into her sleigh. :)

Permalink Reply by Theunha on January 8, 2012 at 10:13am

Strawberry Meringue: strawberry ice cream covered with vanilla creme pat, dried strawberries, deep fried mint, meringue, and pepper shortbread biscuits, with fresh strawberries and strawberry granita.

This one has been taken of and changed, but I liked preparing the components and plating it. Double malt Ice cream sandwich, with mascarpone mousse, carob sauce, carob and parsnip cake, dried carrot dried parsnip and carob jelly

Permalink Reply by Orpheus929 on April 1, 2012 at 10:21pm

Being LGBT, for me, is definitely more prominent. I have always been super low-key about my diabetes, though not always for the best reasons. These days, at least in the circles I run in, being gay is no big deal. But being diabetic? That gets responses of confusion, pity, or "should you be eating that?"

But in both cases, i think the more we can share the reality of our lives and our struggles, the more people will be educated. Something for me to work on with diabetes, for sure!

Permalink Reply by SF Pete on April 24, 2012 at 1:22pm

I live in SF, so the queer thing is pretty much assumed, plus talk with me for five minutes and you'll pretty much nail me as a Kinsey 6. I do disclose the diabetes right up front. That way, if I seem to be a whole lot of nutty to my friends, they know to hand me a soda. But in a situation where I'm not sure of the leanings of my audience, I will dislose the diabetes first. The gay thing doesn't usually follow too far behind that. I'm lucky given my geographic location.

Permalink Reply by Mike on April 24, 2012 at 1:29pm

Totally understandable.

I worked at Disneyland for a few years in my younger days and it was the same. People just assumed everyone was gay unless you gave them reason to believe otherwise. I remember hushed conversations where people were gossiping about someone they thought "might be straight."

Kind of the opposite of the real world.

Thanks for sharing, Pete.

Permalink Reply by Jonah on May 6, 2012 at 3:58am

Usually diabetes, because I rarely feel safe coming out as trans.

Permalink Reply by Micah on June 15, 2012 at 10:30pm

Normally I'm outted as a diabetic by a friend or I tell when the conversation allows it. I have never told anyone I was gay until this week when I told my father, mother, and fiancée.