Tim Gunn, Late Bloomer

Washington's Metro Weekly has an interview up with Tim wherein he discusses (among other things) homophobia, when he got his cherry popped, and gay men vs. straight men.

"MW: Was homophobia expressed in your home?

GUNN: My father was so homophobic that later I thought maybe he was a closet case.

MW: When did the pink light bulb switch on for you?

GUNN: Late. I was in denial for a while -- kept pushing it to the back of my consciousness. I was 22 when I had my first experience. It was the early '70s.

MW: In addition to Runway, you now have your own Bravo series, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. How did you feel about taking center stage?

GUNN: Terrified, to be honest. You feel really exposed. I felt during the taping of Guide to Style that we were achieving our goals, but I wasn't at all confident that the viewer would have the patience for it, because it's kind of a tedious journey. Are they going to be interested in the underwear drawer? Are they going to be interested in how we shop? Will the viewer watch and come back? So I was living with a lot of concerns about that.

MW: Is there a perceptible difference between the styles of gay and straight men, or is that just myth?

GUNN: Just generally speaking, I think there is a larger percentage of gay men who really care about how they present themselves, who take care in how they present themselves to the world, than straight men. I was just on a TV show in Chicago and the question was put to me, ''Do women care more about how they present themselves than men?'' And I said, ''Well, women, generally speaking, have more experience with this -- they've been brought up this way.'' Yet, there are only two genders on this planet and shouldn't both be concerned with presentation to the world? It's certainly true with other species.

But I think there is a style gene in gay men's DNA that's pretty profound -- and it benefits itself in architecture and product design and graphic design and in all of the areas of art and design."

Tim will be in Washington this weekend to accept "the OUTstanding Individual Lifetime Achievement Award from OUT for Work, an LGBT college student career conference taking place at the Washington Plaza Hotel from Sept. 29 to 30. Gunn is being given the award, says OUT for Work Executive Director Riley Folds, for his 'contributions as an out and open professional in the workplace.' "