What is Next? Gay Male Collegiate Experiences after Coming-Out

The purpose of this book was to explore the lives of gay students after they had come out in college as little research has addressed this issue. Themes that emerged from this research included (a) coming-out is not a one-time occurrence, but instead a dynamic process that has been, and continues to be, influenced by the variety of experiences; (b) students arrive at college with certain preconceptions of college life. Coming-out introduces many new experiences for gay students and leads them to develop new expectations of college; and (c) throughout their coming-out process students work to integrate their gay identity into their overall identity and this level of integration varies. Major results of this study led the author to conclude that (a) a persons cornerstone, an individual or group from whom affirmation was most desired, seems to have the most profound impact on continued identity development; (b) the size and culture of some colleges create additional identity challenges; (c) positive exposure to gay individuals and culture while growing up may impact the timing of a persons coming-out, and the speed and depth for identity integration.