It's true! And SV Clark works better for the closet gay metaphor than Superman, even. The difference is that Clark doesn't really have a secret identity yet - like those people who are closeted, Clark doesn't share his real self with almost anyone but his cabal (and a million meteor freaks, but let's not get into that...) While as Superman is known to the world - that he's Clark Kent is the only secret he's keeping. (Well, excepting those canons that the Daily Planet's clutzy Clark Kent is an act, and his true self only shows on rare occasions. That's getting into some serious psychological troubles.)
One difference between Clark and most gay people is that Clark's parents knew before Clark himself does. They take the secret so seriously that they kept it even from Clark himself for over a decade! The Kents really seem to feel that they own Clark's secret, that they have a right to control it, even when it affects and involves other people to the point of life-threatening danger...
As for Clark...I think Clark in later seasons completely internalized his parents' instructions. And I think he did it by convincing himself that protecting his secret really is protecting other people. He doesn't think beyond this axiom because to do so, he'd fall apart psychologically. Lying does not come naturally to Clark (as it does to Martha...less so to Jonathan; Jonathan would just prefer for Clark to stay hidden, so the issue doesn't arise at all...) I think subconsciously Clark must be aware of how his lies hurt people...Clark has too much compassion and conscience not to realize it. But he's hiding from that truth, because otherwise he'd have to betray his parents, and he can't do that. (It doesn't help that every single person who's brought into Clark's secret feels so privileged that they don't want anyone else to come in on it and lessen their specialness. Not a single member of his cabal has ever done anything but reinforce to Clark how vital it is to keep the secret at any cost.)
Re: I've been thinking about how maintaining a secret identity...
One difference between Clark and most gay people is that Clark's parents knew before Clark himself does. They take the secret so seriously that they kept it even from Clark himself for over a decade! The Kents really seem to feel that they own Clark's secret, that they have a right to control it, even when it affects and involves other people to the point of life-threatening danger...
As for Clark...I think Clark in later seasons completely internalized his parents' instructions. And I think he did it by convincing himself that protecting his secret really is protecting other people. He doesn't think beyond this axiom because to do so, he'd fall apart psychologically. Lying does not come naturally to Clark (as it does to Martha...less so to Jonathan; Jonathan would just prefer for Clark to stay hidden, so the issue doesn't arise at all...) I think subconsciously Clark must be aware of how his lies hurt people...Clark has too much compassion and conscience not to realize it. But he's hiding from that truth, because otherwise he'd have to betray his parents, and he can't do that. (It doesn't help that every single person who's brought into Clark's secret feels so privileged that they don't want anyone else to come in on it and lessen their specialness. Not a single member of his cabal has ever done anything but reinforce to Clark how vital it is to keep the secret at any cost.)