Hull's growing awareness of his sexual identity
Hull describes his interactions with other non-heterosexual boys as a child. He discusses his first awareness of his sexuality and his coming-out experience as a teenager.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Bill Hull, June 21, 2001. Interview K-0844. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- BILL HULL:
-
Still do, for that matter. [Laughter] I
mean, the first gay person that I ever knew, was a classmate, and I knew
that he was gay from the third grade on and he didn't until
he reached high school. But, I knew that he was the same as I was, I
just didn't want to—well, and I just
didn't know what sex was. When you are a third grader you
just know, that, "Hey, here is another sissy."
Y'all had a lot of fun together playing dress up and doing
back door shows and things like that. I think that the first time that I
ever was aware that I was a totally gay person, and I realized that,
hey, he is really like me, I was probably like thirteen years old. Yeah,
and who was that? I don't want to say his name because he
would be destroyed if I told him, but he was an older person.
Let's see, I was 13, he was in his twenties, he was a
journalist and I was very active in community stuff, 4-H and stuff like
that. That was one of his beats I guess, and I was involved in 4-H
health or something. Anyway, he interviewed me and I clicked on him
immediately as being a gay person. I knew who that was other than him
being a gay person, but he was much older and almost a father figure, I
guess. But, at 13 anybody is a father figure. I decided that I wanted to
do a class project about being a journalist and wanted to interview him,
so I basically set it up and seduced him.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
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Oh, oh, you seduced him sexually.
- BILL HULL:
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Right.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
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Oh, well, good for you.
- BILL HULL:
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I know. [Laughter] Well, I
didn't know quite what to do, but I knew that once we got
alone together, then I could be who I way back in the back of me be the
one that I always wanted to be. That was sort of called my physical
coming out. But, I never really had to deal with being gay.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
-
Right, right, well, you people never really discuss it, it just happens
and—
- BILL HULL:
-
Yeah, I just knew it and I was just waiting around until I got pubic
hair and could do it.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
-
Right. [Laughter] ] Oh, goodness, how did
he react to that?
- BILL HULL:
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Oh, it was wonderful. Oh, well, good, because he was gay.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
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Oh, well, yeah.
- BILL HULL:
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And he introduced me to his first ever boyfriend.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
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Wow, well that is very good, that is a very healthy coming out
experience.
- BILL HULL:
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It was very, very healthy.
- CHRIS MCGINNIS:
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It is very positive. You hear so many not so positive. That is very
good.
- BILL HULL:
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I know.