Every gay man has felt that shame. It settles early, long before we have language for who we are or the courage to name it. It’s learned in locker rooms and hallways, in jokes not meant for us, but always about us. It’s reinforced by silence, by the constant calculation of what can be said, and what must never be revealed. Shame is enforced subtly — through exclusion, fear, and the knowledge that visibility comes at a cost.
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