likeiknewiwould:

I downloaded this movie a few weeks back and am just starting to watch it now. 

The following are two of the plot summaries on IMDb for “Word Is Out”: 

More than two dozen men and women of various backgrounds, ages, and races talk to the camera about being gay or lesbian. Their stories are arranged in loose chronology: early years, fitting in (which for some meant marriage), coming out, establishing adult identities, and reflecting on how things have changed and how things should be. Some speak as couples and some as individuals. One lost her children in a custody decision, one was dishonorably discharged from the US Army, two were sent to insane asylums. Each sees social progress as he or she looks back; all are reflective. News footage and a few vocal performances provide breaks as topics shift.

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Twenty-six American homosexuals of various ages and backgrounds are interviewed, they who speak candidly about their sexual orientation in this era just a few years after the initial gay liberation at Stonewall. They speak of when they first knew of their sexual orientation and what that actually meant to them during a time when there were few open outlets or supports for homosexuals in American society. Some speak of the added pressures if the acknowledgment of being a homosexual was during one’s growing up period, when there are enough pressures from growing up in and of itself. They also speak of the period of coming out - for some, this process being involuntary - with many who were treated as having a mental disorder and the resulting fear or anger associated with the treatment. Into their out period, they needed to figure out where in society they fit, whether it be in relation to their partner, to friends or society in general. To each individual or group, these roles could be totally different. They speculate on their future as homosexuals based on their experiences and the state of homosexual acceptance in American society.