Her only concern was that some members of the team might offend me by making jokes – though with the aim of making me feel part of the team. I told my new head of department that I was thinking about revealing my sexuality at school. The problem is that my teaching style is quite dramatic and, well, flouncy at times, unlike that of most maths teachers. If nothing else, it would mean an end to all of those draining strategies I’d employed at work for years: don’t admit you’re into musical theatre don’t flounce say you like football (I do, so that one’s not too bad).
I wanted to show my new students it was OK to be gay, that I was proud of who I was. I had been suppressing my true self and living a lie: friends and family knew about my sexuality, but it was tiresome to lead a dual existence and keep up a pretence with colleagues and students. Here, I thought, I could finally be myself – and I started to think about being out at work. I was relieved to be starting again, in a job with no additional responsibilities.
