National Coming Out Day: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|LGBT awareness and celebration day}}

[[Image:Logo_ncod_lg.gif|200px|right|thumb|National Coming Out Day logo designed by [[Keith Haring]] ]]

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}

{{Infobox holiday

|holiday_name = National Coming Out Day

|type = [[List of LGBT awareness periods|LGBT awareness day]]

|image = Logo ncod lg.png

|caption = Logo designed by [[Keith Haring]] for the [[Human Rights Campaign]]'s advocacy of the day

|official_name =

|nickname =

|observedby = [[LGBT community]]

|firsttime = October 11, 1988 (United States)

|duration = 1 day

|frequency = Annual

|scheduling = same day each year

|date = October 11

|mdy = true

|observances = [[Coming out]]

|relatedto = [[Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights]]

}}

'''National Coming Out Day''' ('''NCOD''') is an annual [[List of LGBT awareness periods|LGBT awareness day]] observed on [[October 11]] to support anyone "[[coming out of the closet]]".<ref name="HRC_NCOD">{{cite web | title = History of Coming Out & Themes of NCOD | publisher = Human Rights Campaign | url = http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/the-history-of-coming-out |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604021926/https://www.hrc.org/resources/the-history-of-coming-out |archive-date=4 June 2020 | access-date = October 11, 2014}}</ref> First celebrated in the United States in 1988, the initial idea was grounded in the [[feminism|feminist]] and [[gay liberation]] spirit of the [[The personal is political|personal being political]], and the emphasis on the most basic form of activism being coming out to family, friends, and colleagues, and living life as an openly [[LGBTQ|LGBTQIA+]] person.<ref name=HoffmanIntro>Hoffman, Amy (2007) ''An Army of Ex-Lovers: My life at the Gay Community News''. University of Massachusetts Press. pp.xi-xiii. {{ISBN|978-1558496217}}</ref> The founders believed that [[homophobia]] thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance and that once people know that they have loved ones who are [[LGBTQ|LGBTQIA+]], they are far less likely to maintain homophobic or oppressive views.<ref name=EichbergNYT>{{cite news|title=Robert Eichberg, 50, Gay Rights Leader|date=August 15, 1995|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/15/obituaries/robert-eichberg-50-gay-rights-leader.html}}</ref>

==History==

This day is really gay.

NCOD was inaugurated in 1988 by Robert Eichberg and [[Jean O'Leary]]. Eichberg, who died in 1995 of complications from [[AIDS]], was a [[psychologist]] from New Mexico and the founder of the personal growth workshop "The Experience".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=L. A. Times |date=1995-08-19 |title=Robert Eichberg; Psychologist, Gay Rights Activist |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-19-mn-36681-story.html |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> O'Leary was an openly [[lesbian]] political leader and long-time activist from New York and was at the time the head of the National Gay Rights Advocates in [[Los Angeles]].<ref name=EichbergNYT/> LGBT activists, including Eichberg and O'Leary, did not want to respond defensively to anti-LGBT action because they believed it would be predictable. This led them to establish NCOD to maintain positivity and celebrate coming out.<ref name="HRC_NCOD" /> The date of October 11 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the [[Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights]] in 1987.<ref name="HRC_NCOD"/>

<blockquote>Most people think they don't know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact, everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes.

'''National [[Coming out|Coming Out]] Day''' is observed on [[October 11]] by members of the [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexuality|bisexual]] and [[transgender]] ([[LGBT]]) communities and their allies. It is highly encouraged for participants in this movement to wear identifying symbols, such as the [[pink triangle]], the Greek letter [[lambda]], and rainbows, in jewelry and on their clothing, to demonstrate their presence in all walks of life, all ages and all ethnic groups.

:– Robert Eichberg, in 1993<ref name=EichbergNYT/></blockquote>

Initially administered from the [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]] offices of the National Gay Rights Advocates, the first NCOD received participation from eighteen states, garnering national media coverage. In its second year, NCOD headquarters moved to [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], and participation grew to 21 states. After a media push in 1990, NCOD was observed in all 50 states and seven other countries. Participation continued to grow, and in 1990, NCOD merged its efforts with the [[Human Rights Campaign]].<ref name="HRC_NCOD"/>

The day was founded by Dr. Robert Eichberg and [[Jean O'Leary]] in 1988, in celebration of the [[Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights]] one year earlier, in which 500,000 people marched on [[Washington, DC]], [[United States|USA]], for gay and lesbian equality. National Coming Out Day events are aimed at [[raising awareness]] of the [[gay community|LGBT community]] among the general populace in an effort to give a familiar face to the [[LGBT rights]] movement.

In the [[United States]], the [[Human Rights Campaign]] manages the event under the National Coming Out Project, offering resources to [[LGBT]] individuals, couples, parents, and their children, as well as straight friends and relatives, to promote awareness of [[LGBT parenting|LGBT families]] families living honest and open lives. [[Candace Gingrich]] became the spokesperson for the day in April 1995.

To celebrate National Coming Out Day on 11 October 2002, Human Rights Campaign released an album bearing the same title as that year's theme: ''[[Being Out Rocks]]''. Participating artists include [[Kevin Aviance]], [[Janis Ian]], [[k.d. lang]], [[Cyndi Lauper]], [[Sarah McLachlan]], and [[Rufus Wainwright]]

[[Candace Gingrich]] became the spokesperson for the day in April [[1995]].

==Observance==

Despite its name, National Coming Out Day is observed worldwide.

National Coming Out Day is observed annually to celebrate [[coming out]] and to raise awareness of the [[LGBT community]] and [[LGBT social movements|civil rights movement]]. The first decades of observances were marked by private and public people coming out, often in the media, to raise awareness and let the mainstream know that everyone knows at least one person who is [[lesbian]] or [[gay]].<ref name=" HRC_NCOD"/> The day has been more of a holiday in recent years because coming out as LGBT is far less risky in most Western countries. Participants often wear [[LGBT symbols|pride symbols]] such as [[pink triangle]]s and [[Rainbow flag (LGBT movement)|rainbow flags]].{{cn|date=October 2021}}

National Coming Out Day is also observed in Ireland,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.thejournal.ie/national-coming-out-day-1121044-Oct2013/ |title= Today is 'National Coming Out Day'|last= O'Carroll|first= Sinead|date= October 11, 2013|website= TheJournal.ie |access-date= October 12, 2017}}</ref> Switzerland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/national-coming-out-day-advice-for-parents-of-lgbtq-teens-a3656126.html|title=National Coming Out Day: Advice for parents of LGBTQ teens|work=[[London Evening Standard]]|last=Connor|first=Liz|date=October 11, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref> and Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silva |first=Raquel Dias da |date=2019-10-10 |title=Lisboa celebra o Dia de Sair do Armário com sessão especial de "Variações" |url=https://www.timeout.pt/lisboa/pt/noticias/lisboa-celebra-o-dia-de-sair-do-armario-com-sessao-especial-de-variacoes-101019 |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=Time Out Lisboa |language=pt-PT}}</ref> In the United States, the [[Human Rights Campaign]] sponsors NCOD events under the auspices of their National Coming Out Project, offering resources to LGBT individuals, couples, parents, and children, as well as straight friends and relatives, to promote awareness of LGBT families living honest and open lives. [[Candace Gingrich]] became the spokesperson for NCOD in April 1995.<ref name="HRC_NCOD"/> From 1999 to 2014, the Human Rights Campaign announced a theme to go with each NCOD:<ref name="HRC_NCOD" />

* 1999: Come Out to Congress

* 2000: Think it O-o-ver (Who Will Pick the New Supremes?)

* 2001: An Out Odyssey

* 2002: Being Out Rocks!

* 2003: It's a Family Affair

* 2004: Come Out. Speak Out. Vote.

* 2005–2007: Talk About It

* 2009: Conversations from the Heart

* 2010–2011: Coming Out for Equality

* 2012: Come Out. Vote.

* 2013–2014: Coming Out Still Matters

== Perspectives on "coming out" ==

[[Radical feminism|Radical feminist]] poet and author [[Adrienne Rich]], in her 1980 essay "[[Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence]]", suggests that the need to come out stems from the pressure to adhere to heterosexuality from birth, or [[compulsory heterosexuality]].<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Rich |first1=Adrienne|author-link1= Adrienne Rich |title=Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence |journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society |date=1980 |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=631–660 |doi=10.1086/493756|s2cid=143604951 |url=http://www.weldd.org/sites/default/files/Compulsory%20Heterosexuality.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517143613/http://www.weldd.org/sites/default/files/Compulsory%20Heterosexuality.pdf |archive-date=17 May 2020}}</ref> Rich uses the example that heterosexual people never have to come out as heterosexual, and that societal support of heterosexuality as the norm leads to homosexuality being viewed as an anomaly. She explores how the oppressive, ubiquitous nature of compulsory heterosexuality has historically resulted in many lesbians never realizing their true nature or not discovering their orientation until later in life.<ref name=":1" />

NCOD has traditionally been a celebratory day for the LGBT community. However, Preston Mitchum, a black queer writer, in his article, "On National Coming Out Day, Don't Disparage the Closet", published in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' in 2013, questions the assumptions that he believes NCOD makes. While Mitchum does not discredit those who have come out and praises them for their bravery, he also points out that coming out may not always be safe for LGBT people in multiple marginalized communities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/on-national-coming-out-day-dont-disparage-the-closet/280469/ |title=On National Coming Out Day, Don't Disparage the Closet|last=Mitchum|first=Preston|work=The Atlantic |date= October 11, 2013 |access-date=March 23, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> Mitchum also suggests that coming out can lead to hypervisibility for those with intersecting identities, potentially leading to discrimination in the workplace, family exile, violence, and criminalization.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==

{{Portal|LGBTQ}}

{{div col}}

* [[Ally Week]], observed in October

* [[Day of Silence]], observed in April

* [[Harvey Milk Day]]

* [[International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia]], observed on May 17

* [[LGBT History Month]]

* [[LGBT rights in the United States]]

* [[Mattachine Society]]

* [[National Equality March]], October 11, 2009

* [[World AIDS Day]], December 1

* [[de:Indian Coming Out Day]], July 2

{{div col end}}

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commons category|National Coming Out Day}}

*[http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Coming_Out/Get_Involved3/National_Coming_Out_Day/Index.htm National Coming Out Day 2006]

* [https://www.hrc.org/resources/national-coming-out-day National Coming Out Day] (US)

*[http://tiger.towson.edu/~apeak1/writtenwork/thoughtpieces/areplytohighschoolhostsnationalcomingoutparentsprotestcampuseventsincludinggayfilmfestival.html An article addressing concerns regarding National Coming-Out Day]

* [http://www.comingoutday.ch/index.php National Coming- Out Day (Switzerland)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212023943/http://www.comingoutday.ch/ |date=February 12, 2021 }}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20191110061157/https://www.rucomingout.com/ RUComingOut – Real Life Coming Out stories]

*[http://www.queeryouth.org.uk/phpnews/news.php?action=fullnews&id=176 Coming-Out Day UK Poster Camapign]

* [https://comingoutstories.org Coming Out Stories] (comingoutstories.org)

{{LGBT |state=uncollapsed |selected=culture}}

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[[Category:LGBTCivil eventsawareness in the United Statesdays]]

[[Category:AwarenessHistory days|Nationalof ComingLGBTQ Outcivil Dayrights in the United States]]

[[Category:LGBTQ events in the United States]]

[[Category:October observances]]

[[Category:LGBTQ-related observances]]

[[de:Coming Out Day]]