My first encounter

I have been involved in gymnastics for about 10 years now-- 6 years as an athlete and 4 years as coach. It was at my gymnastics facility where I first encountered gay people. As an athlete, I had 4 coaches; two guys and two girls.When I was doing gym, I was younger so I didn't really have a full understanding of gays. I always assumed that gay men were very prissy, overly feminine, and high-fashion. I always had assumed that lesbians were somewhat manly. I think that the media and other social influences created this false image for me. I had never encountered one so I always assumed that all gays and lesbians were like the ones displayed on TV. My assumption was totally wrong-- not all gays and lesbians act and dress that way. Throughout my 6 years as an athlete, I never knew two of my coaches were homosexual. One female coach is a lesbian and one of my male coaches is gay. I did not find out my coaches (now co-workers) sexual orientations until I became an employee. This is because both of my gay coaches didn't have the "typical" gay personality that I had assumed; or they were just really good at hiding their true colors. The lesbian coach doesn't dress manly and acts just like the rest of us straight employees. Our gay coach is a heavier-set man with a deep voice and  manly characteristics. Both of them are the total opposite of what I thought a gay person had to be like. This really opened my eyes. I was shocked when I found out to be honest. They both talk about their partners and I was confused by this at first. Word spread and it finally clicked that they were gay. Sometimes I still forget that they are gay because they don't act like the "normal" gay that society creates. So as you can see, my first encounter with gay people was over 10 years ago, but didn't even realize it until about 4 years ago!!