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CHAPTER 8: TREKKING THROUGH AUTOETHNOGRA... > Walking a Fine
Line: Tony's Introduc...  Walking a Fine Line: Tony's
Introduction  I (Tony) put on my pack and approach the start of
a fourteen-mile overnight hike. I am with my friends Carolyn and
Art, and two of their friends whom I have never met, Cindy and
Susan.  Typically I am fine interacting with strangers for a
short time. But with the length of time we'll spend together,
two days and a night, I feel sure the unfamiliar others will ask
about my life, particularly my relationships, research
interests, and teaching. And I feel anxious: as a gay man who
studies and teaches about gay identity, I put pressure on myself
about deciding when and how to inform others of my identity and
my work.  I fear negative responses to my identity, particularly
from people who find gayness inappropriate or immoral. Persons
who identify as or are perceived to be ga