Reading Teresa's post about being out to her old friends made me think... How would you, or you and your wife react to an old friend coming out? We expect a lot of compassion and tolerance from people, but would we be so compassionate and accepting? Would it depend on who it was. Would it depend on what they looked like or how well they passed?
There's a repetitive theme on here where somebody (usually somebody who just joined and has less than 50 posts) comes out to their wife/mother/girlfriend/sister/aunt/daughter/coworker and they're all excited and want to do their makeup and take them shopping. I haven't tried coming out like this, so I don't know for a fact how it would go for me, but I'm betting my experience would not be so stellar.
I'm trying to imagine if my old business partner, my dad, my brother, my neighbor, came out to me. To be totally honest, I'm not sure I'd be the poster child for open acceptance. I think my level of acceptance would probably be as carefully crafted as my own level of "outness". It would greatly depend on who it was and where we'd go or be seen. This all being from my male perspective. On here, I'm always most amazed at the positive stories of acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. I tend to expect the negative. Honestly, again, my level of acceptance would depend largely on how they looked and how well they passed, and how they conducted themselves publicly and privately (this kind of goes for how I choose friends in general, not just those that wear dresses).
That said, the times are changing, changing fast, and in a big way. I think there'll always be pockets of hardened intolerance, but they're dwindling, giving way to apathy and apathy giving way to tolerance. I'd be different about it with an old friend than I would my son or some other child or young person. I am and have been openly tolerant of this in young people, and would certainly be accepting of my own sons.
So, how could I, being who/what I am for my entire life ever be anything but enthusiastically accepting? I'm not saying I feel great about being that way, but I do think it important to be honest about it. I'm a work in progress.