Movies, books, and tv shows have all tried to tackle the issue of “being in the closet,” a big thing for all in the LGBTQ+ community. Being in the closet is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Being out to my friends and a couple of my family members is okay but not being able to be myself completely at home, online, and in my life makes life difficult and hurts my mental health deeply.
Coming out isn’t just about me being able to post all over the place about my sexuality, it’s about being able to be myself without any restrictions. Being in the closet makes you feel trapped and not like your most authentic self. You can’t do certain things at certain places, you have to constantly make sure the pictures that are taken are friend-like pictures if they are going to be posted on Facebook. It’s telling family that you’re doing something else to avoid suspicion about being gay. It’s the fact that everytime I go home, I have to take off my pride pins and stickers and hide who I am. It’s going home and being terrified of being outed with every sentence and being terrified for your life because you don’t know what the reaction will be.
Being in the closet has hurt my mental health, it’s made me suicidal, like many LGBTQ+ people. According to the Trevor Project, LGBT youth are three times more likely to seriously contemplate suicide compared to hetreosexual youth. 40% of Transgender adults have reported having attempted suicide and 92% of those adults reported attempting suicide before age 25. The fact that crimes against LGBTQ+ people are more likely as well makes coming out even more terrifying. Women are beaten on public transport because they would not kiss for men on the transport. Holding hands with my girlfriend off campus is the most terrifying thing, especially in a new area. We get stares and whistles, we stop holding hands because we don’t know what people will say or do.
Being in the closet because of homophobia and fear for my life when I come out to my family. People will say “well you can get married, what more do you want?” While it’s true, I can get married to my girlfriend, but there is still the high possibility of me getting beaten to death for holding hands with my girlfriend, or my family disowning me, or my family hurting me and disowning me. So, I want a lot more other than being able to get married for myself, for my friends in the closet, and for the whole community.
HCXO.
Image courtesy of Google Images.