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National Coming Out Day came and went this week, likely without notice by many straight people. That is because you have had the privilege to never have needed it
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National Coming Out Day was this week. Did you ignore it? I know this does not mean a lot to most of you, nor should it.
You have been able to take for granted that you could be who you are, and you have been able to take that for granted your entire life. Sure, you have had secrets and have revealed or kept them, some of them big harsh secrets. The majority of you have not had the world tell you to take the core of your dreams, your hopes, your every truly romantic feeling and your real vision of family and hide it away. You have been allowed, and more than that – encouraged, to be yourself and be the best of you that you can be. That is how it should be
That is not how it has been for almost any of the gay people you know.
So this week held National Coming Out Day. Here is my suggestion, and request. Take fifteen minutes and think on your marriages, your relationships, your most tender romance, your social life, the looks on your friends and families faces when you announced your engagement. Think of that moment when you realized you were in love and the person loved you back. Now ponder what it would feel like to be asked to make all of that a deathly secret, hide it away, and cloak it in shame. If you do, you may have a sense of what the closet is like, and how it is less “a closet” and more a “dungeon” that some do not survive.
A few years ago, I wrote a public letter to my sons. The point of that letter was the wish that they would never have to “come out” about who they are. I want for those who still have to come out in order to be who they are fully the safety to do so, and to have the potential for the best life possible when they do.
What can you do about those who have not come out? Be open. Be open, so closet doors of others can open and you can lend an outstretched hand to those within. Respect that Marriage Equality is the law of the land so that others can achieve the same level of family responsibility that you can.
Those who are still against Marriage Equality are afraid. I get that. They are afraid that by letting others live fully, they will somehow be threatened, be less valued or be diminished. That is not true. Heterosexual people are not limited resources with finite compassion to share in doled out amounts. You are a spiritual force. The principle of Love is that the more you give away, the more of it you have.
Give. In the name of National Coming Out Day, give. Your acceptance is a boom-a-rang that will not only touch someone else’s world, it will make yours even better.
A version of this appeared on Evol=
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Nope, did not ignore it. Saw it mentioned here, called my butch, lesbian sister, who promptly asked when I was going to come out as a whimpering, sentimental sissy (its just how we rib each other) In speaking to my daughter, told her to call her best friend, the gay guy that was her maid of honor at her wedding (a kid that I am very fond of). Told her to give him a call. Astoundingly, my penis did not fall off, and I did not “go gay”, so I can affirm to all the straight people out there that… Read more »
….mock all you like….but you still haven’t answered my question or refuted my points. Which is why people don’t accept the homosexual agenda when they are all one-way with their so-called equality, fairness and tolerance. Ignoring the obvious, like not acknowledging, celebrating and honouring the “coming out” of homosexuals becoming heterosexuals is clearly against your whole idea of “Coming Out” Day and shows that it is all just a stunt to try and force people into thinking that homosexuality is acceptable. Now please continue to mock and avoid refuting my points (as if that will suddenly somehow make you right,… Read more »
Oh….I read the comments bellow and it’s painful. I know many people don’t understand this ,mostly because they look at it from their point of view. It is not a show-off. This is a very delicate moment in the life of a person who is constantly denied basic human rights that others are born with. But if you cannot fully comprehend the reason and the importance of this day and moment, please shut up and keep thinking. Try harder. Use your imagination.Use your empathy.Dig deeper to find it.
A comment from Facebook: “For a good example of people who don’t get it. Check the comment section of the article.” Yep.
Ha, So very true! Great article.
….and so did you celebrate and rejoice at a homosexual who decided to become heterosexual – in other words, “coming out” the opposite way?….of course not!….you are just pushing a one-way message and bulldozing everyone who disagrees with you. The homosexual agenda is not equal, fair or decent at all.
There is no such thing as “homosexual” deciding/becoming heterosexual, just like there is no such thing as “homosexual agenda”. There is one thing: we are all humans and gender and sexual diversity is a basic natural normal trait like the color of the eyes or the shape of the ear for example. The rest of furious arguments are politics. Also there’s no bulldozing here. You are free to learn and educate yourself and broaden your knowledge about the topic. It’s hard to have a fruitful conversation with someone who’s knowledge is deeply flawed and comes with no arguments in the… Read more »
…so if a homosexual has the “natural normal trait” toward another man, then is the homosexual allowed to ravage them against the other man’s will (ie rape)?….or does the homosexual man hold back against his “natural normal trait”?….obviously, the latter….so homosexuals can choose not to do homosexual acts – it’s always a matter of choice and never “natural normal traits….in the womb”.
I see Hallmark salivating at the chance to sell new greetin cards.
Many straight people have hidden relationships as well. An interracial couple for example, knowing that their families and friends won’t approve the relationship. People from different religious backgrounds who’s parents wouldn’t approve of the relationship and so on. Plus not all gay people have a big ‘coming out.’ Many gay people I know just live their lives and don’t make a big spectacle of being gay. They don’t make some huge announcement to the world that they’re gay. They just are, and they let people figure it out on their own. ‘Coming Out’ was so 2000’s. Now it’s almost seen… Read more »