Coming out day has come and gone, and with the different reactions towards the date.
Founded in the United States in 1988, by the ideas of feminism and gay liberation. Now celebrated across the world through multiple platforms of social media, it is a day when people in the LGTBQA community reveal their orientation.
The idea behind National Coming Out Day is that ignorance is helped along by silence, and on the heels of that, that once that silence is broken, the ignorance will fade. There’s also the hope that seeing their loved ones as part of the LGTBQA community will help acceptance and love for the community.
Many people in the LGTBQA rejoice this day, as they make statuses proudly declaring their orientation and preferences.
There’s a different side to the date however that our predecessors may not have thought about.
A few people have commented on how National Coming Out Day puts pressure on them to reveal their orientation before they’re ready to do so. Whether, because they live in a less than lgtbqa friendly situation, or because they haven’t come to terms with it themselves, there are a lot of reasons why people would want to stay in the closet despite the hype of the holiday.
Yet still, other people have expressed fear of being outed by other people through social media which, even if done with the best of intentions, can be a horrible thing to do to someone.
There’s no one right way to see something, and everyone is entitled to their own reactions, but during this time of pride and celebration, please remember and respect everyone’s position on whether or not they want to be a part of the celebrations.
And everyone have a wonderful coming out day, whether you post about it or not.