Growing up gay is not easy.

Brian McNaught, an award-winning writer and lecturer, communicates that message to people all over the country.

By giving examples from his own life, McNaught tries to help people grasp the enormity of the problems stemming from homophobia.

"I share current scientific data on sexual orientation," he said. "My primary source of data is my own life."

McNaught is the middle child in an Irish Catholic family and said he tried to be heterosexual. In the past he also wrote for Catholic periodicals and won an award from the Catholic Press in the late 1970's for the "Best Magazine Article of the Year."

"(McNaught) has a very strong faith in God," said Michael La Flam, co-director of ABOUT FACE.

McNaught received a journalism degree at Marquette University and was a member of Sigma Delta Chi fraternity. He stopped dating women at the end of his junior year, acknowledging to himself that he is gay. Five years later he went public.

Part of his purpose in writing and speaking about homophobia is to help gay, lesbian and bisexual people, McNaught said.

"I hope that what I say affirms them in their journey," he said.

From June 1982 to February 1984, McNaught served as the mayor of Boston's liaison to the gay and lesbian community, where he coordinated the city's reaction to the AIDS epidemic.

McNaught, who is certified as an educator and counselor, has spoken at almost 100 universities. He will speak tonight in the HUB Ballroom about "Homophobia . . . The Toll It Takes On All Of Us."

"Homophobia affects everybody," McNaught said. "I want to help heterosexual people understand how anti-gay bias takes a terrible toll and help heterosexual people understand what it is like growing up gay."

And McNaught said college students are more open-minded today than they were a few years ago.

"I find that college students today are more interested in justice issues than they were a few years ago," McNaught said. "I find that college students today are more sophisticated on the issue of sexuality than they were a few years ago, and more college students today know someone who is gay."

La Flam, the assistant co-coordinator of Healthy Loving Week, said McNaught was chosen as the keynote speaker because he is considered a disarming speaker and is knowledgeable about homophobia.

"He's going to be talking about issues that are pretty relative to our campus and America right now," La Flam said, adding that he was chosen for Healthy Loving Week because sexual orientation and homophobia have an effect on loving relationships.

Elaine Jurs, coordinator of Healthy Loving Week, said she heard McNaught speak and was impressed with his warmth and humor.

"We thought it was time he came to Penn State," said Jurs, who is also the assistant director of the Office of Health Promotion and Education at University Health Services.