National Coming Out Day encourages civil awareness
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 10/10/2008
sponsored by
National Coming Out Day (NCOD), a now internationally-celebrated event, occurs on Oct. 11 each year. NCOD serves as a civil awareness day, during which the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community encourages open discussion about GLBT issues, and also encourages GLBT people to "come out of the closet." Though the exact origins of the phrase are debated, its meaning is understood to refer to the act of openly admitting a GLBT identity for oneself.
NCOD started on Oct. 11, 1988, as the first anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which drew an estimated half-million GLBT Americans, along with their straight allies. It was during the planning sessions for the march that one phrase became an informal motto for the movement: "the personal is political."
This maxim helps us understand the act of coming out as both a personal statement of identity and a political statement of worth.
In the best cases, coming out is a declaration over which one has full control. It is individual, unique and self-constructed. Some come out just once, while others come out repeatedly; some to their families, others only to strangers. In the worst cases, people are outed, sometimes purposely, sometimes unknowingly. In these cases, one is robbed of an essential right to manage one's own identity.
Yet this declaration of identity also has political weight. It is a statement of self-worth, which, combined with others like it, alters the identity of our common constituency. Slowly, "I am" becomes "we are" and "I matter" becomes "we matter." However, some choose not to declare themselves, or to come out silently. To this, one can respond only by quoting Audre Lorde, who cautioned, in her essay "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action," "Your silence will not protect you."
Apart from one's own coming out, there is much to be done to facilitate and support the coming out of others. We can each create and maintain a welcoming environment by choosing carefully the words that we use, by familiarizing ourselves with resources available to those coming out, and by listening to the stories of those who have already come out.
Standing up against homophobia and heterosexism by challenging commonly-used pejoratives makes a statement not only to those who you correct, but also to those who witness it. People also notice when you don't make assumptions, or use inclusive language, such as telling a colleague to bring "a date," rather than "your boyfriend" or describing something as open to "all genders," rather than to "both men and women."
It is also helpful to know what resources are available for those coming out, should someone come to you seeking help in that process. In addition to counseling services offered through offices on campus, there are many student and community organizations which serve the local GLBT community.
In fact, this year, National Coming Out Day will coincide with a local history-making, as Pride Lafayette hosts OUToberfest, a Tippecanoe County Pride Celebration. It is events like this that help everyone understand how the personal really is the political.
Christopher Munt is the coordinator of Student Diversity Services.