The South African family: Nash Mariah, Mavuso Mbutuma, Martin Magner and Jana Babez
CELEBRATING COMING OUT
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people’s self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation or their gender identity. by Andrew Christian
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nternational Coming Out Day is celebrated on the 22nd October ...
For thirty years now, Coming Out Day has been celebrated as a day of LGBTQ+ awareness. On this day those brave activists who made and continue to make the radical political decision that is to come out to the world as their genuine gay selves, are remembered. Coming Out Day began in 1988 in the United States and in its first year, it was operated out of a small office in West Hollywood, California. NCOD (for short) was dreamed by LGBTQ+ activists Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary. The original vision of the day was to encourage everyone and anyone in the LGBTQ+ community to “come out” to their loves one. The practice of coming out is often a pivotal moment in the lives of most gay men. For many, it’s the day that can truly start being themselves, and have the world view them for who they are. But it wasn’t always that way. Homophobia, while still a massive problem, was considerably worse back in the 80’s. In an effort to end heteronormativity and fight homophobia, the belief was that if people realised that they had friends, family and loved ones in the LGBTQ+ community, then they would have to reevaluate their homophobia. Coming out was a form of protest against a society that wanted to keep queerness invisible. Mag 34
Thirty years later, some gay intellectuals challenge the continued necessity of this holiday. Their thinking goes, in a perfect world gay men shouldn’t even HAVE to “come out” because the mere necessity of this action implies that our society treats homosexuality and somehow different or worthy of explanation. Of course, most of us realise that this thinking is idealistic, and there’s still much work to be done before we reach this point. So everyone who makes up our diverse community are encouraged to come out if you haven’t yet! Or come out tomorrow! Having said that, coming out is a very important and personal journey that all LGBTQ+ people must arrive at in their own time and on their own terms. So if today feels right, then go ahead and come on out!
