Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn has shared a positive perspective on his coming out experience. Speaking to the magazine “Focus,” Spahn reported that his family and friends reacted “super” to the news of his homosexuality. He acknowledged that sometimes his social circle understood him better than he understood himself. He stated that his community found out about his sexual orientation when he was between 14 and 16 years old, explaining, “I couldn’t even give you a specific moment. That is more of a development.”
In his hometown of Ottenstein, he found that people were generally open and fair. He also mentioned that he felt welcome while attending the Catholic school he attended. When asked about this, the CDU politician commented, “In a Catholic school, the students are not much different from those in any other school.”
Spahn noted that he only realized that not every coming out experience goes smoothly when he began comparing himself to others. Conversations made it clear to him “how many others haven’t had, and still don’t have, such a positive initial reaction.” Nevertheless, Spahn conceded that he did encounter negative experiences later in life, admitting, “Nonetheless, it’s always like this, when you are different from others, there will occasionally be a stupid remark in a pub.”
