Butgrowingnumbersofgaypeopletookthisriskbecausetheyfoundittobeanunbearableaffronttotheirhumandignityandintegritytoconcealthisimportantpartoftheirlivesfromotherpeople.Theywerealsodeterminedtohavetheirgayrelationshipstreatedequallyandtoseethemrespectedinthesamewaythatamarriageorotherheterosexualrelationshipwouldbe.Asahistoricalmatter，theirdecisiontocomeoutwasreinforcedandeveninspiredbybroaderculturalchangesinideasabouttheboundarybetweenpublicandprivatelife，andtheemergenceofanewmoralityofpersonalhonestythatwasembracedbymanypeopleoftheirgeneration，notjustgaypeople.
By1985，oneinfourAmericanshadafriendoracquaintancewhohadtoldthemtheyweregay，althoughmorethanhalfofAmericansstillbelievedtheydidnotknowanyonegay.Overthenextfifteenyears，however，manymoregaypeoplestartedtalkingwiththeirheterosexualfriends，andbytheyear2000，fullythree-quartersofAmericansrealizedtheyknewsomeonegay.