I'm in a similar position, where I know I like cock, but I'm still closeted to family and some friends. My problem is that there are so many negative stereotypes out there that all gay men are often tarred with the same brush. A friend of mine actually goes out of his way to fit the stereotype of the effeminate gay man to the extent that he is unhealthily thin, is a total bitch, wears women's jeans, wears make up, is so neurotic that even Blanche DuBois would be shocked, and thinks that everyone hates him because he's gay, as if to be gay means that you have to be a victim as if it comes with the territory. He holds that up as the pinnacle and paragon of homosexuality, and thinks that all gay men should be exactly like him or they aren't 'proper gays'. He is, to an extent, a homophobic homosexual.
Growing up with some of these quite negative and derogatory stereotypes sometimes really doesn't help the coming out process, as there's the worry that everyone will think that you fit the stereotypes and will unfairly judge you based on them. I admire those celebrities such as Duncan James, Russell Tovey, and even Joe McElderry, (all British celebrities, for those who have no idea who I'm talking about =P) who are bi or gay, but do not live their lives around their sexuality. In an interview Russell Tovey said that there were no gay role models who were just blokes, men who happened to be gay and did not fit the stereotype, and he wanted to be the role model he never had.
I don't like labels exactly because of the stereotypes associated with them. I am my own person, and I am a man who just happens to like men, just like the next man to walk down the street could be a man who happens to like women. I'm still me, and I'll do something because I want to do it, not because my sexuality means that I must or must not do it. I'm a student, and I don't like being stereotyped in that respect either, or because I'm a man, or because I'm from a certain area of the country. Whatever it is, I don't like being stereotyped, regardless of whether I fit the stereotype or not.
Sorry to hijack the thread with my own views, but from what you're saying newbie2011 it sounds like you're worried about what others will think, and I totally hear you there. When I do eventually decide to come out, I'm going to remind everyone that I'm still the same me, and the only thing that is different is the fact that they now know my sexual preference. I don't plan to fit any stereotypes, and I'd love to see the stigma surrounding being gay completely gone so we don't have to feel oppressed by society's sometimes distorted image of homosexuality. I'm all for live and let live, but for me personally I feel that it is the negative stereotypes that continue to be perpetuated that make coming out harder. Obviously, some people do live their lives around these stereotypes, and some people fit them naturally, and good luck to them, I'm certainly not trying to say that they are wrong, I just think that when everyone is tarred with the same brush, it can be difficult for there to be any sort of individuality. I like men, but does that mean I also must be incredibly camp? Of course not. Some people are, just like some straight people are very camp too, but I think it's far more important to focus on the individual, rather than what their sexuality, race, background, etc stereotypes them as.
I don't know if you feel the same newbie, but it would be nice to chat to someone in a similar position =)