Many things are stigmatizing in our world: being gay, being a member of a race that is discriminated against, being an illegal immigrant, infidelity, polygamy, being mentally ill… so much more. People treat you differently when they know these things about you. They could be scared, or angry, or dismissive of your humanity, or disgusted… and more.
It is no wonder people keep secrets. No one wants to be treated like an outcast.
And yet, these things are usually important parts of our identity, and we want to talk about them, to share them. If we have no friends or family we can trust, then we want an anonymous way to share. If we can’t talk about this stuff, we can’t know how to deal with it, or if anyone else does it, and how they dealt with it. Secrets are awful burdens. Sites like fluther are a gigantic gift to those of us who have done shameful things, especially to people like me who have, no doubt, committed every sin on the books.