It's National Coming Out Day, again. It's celebrated as an awareness day for the GLBT community. It is celebrated in the states and a few European countries on the eleventh, and in the UK on the twelfth.
Now, I think many people don't understand why people in the GLBT community can't just "stay in the closet" and "keep it to themselves." They don't like it being "thrown in their faces."
Well, to cite the American Psychological Association:
Why do some gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals tell people about their sexual orientation?
Because sharing that aspect of themselves with others is important to their mental health. In fact, the process of identity development for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals called "coming out" has been found to be strongly related to psychological adjustment; the more positive the gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity, the better one's mental health and the higher one's self-esteem.
Because roughly ninety percent of all people are heterosexual, many people with non-heterosexual orientations feel invisible, because everyone misidentifies them as heterosexual. Now, when it comes up, some heterosexuals will point out that they're not gay.
It's not just for people yelling "I'm not gay!" when any question of their orientation comes up. Sometimes, this will be when straight people who support the GLBT community start an argument with, "I'm not gay, but..."
It can even be more subtle than that. People hold hands and kiss their boyfriends or girlfriends all the time, in public. They can talk about their straight marriages or straight relationships casually, without fear of being judged for being in a relationship with the opposite sex.
But, somehow, it's flaunting it if a gay person does any of those things. This can definitely make people feel trapped. That's why coming out is important, in the GLBT community.
Also, I already recently came out on the blog, for Celebrate Bisexuality Day, so I just decided to give a little more information.
Have a rainbow-licious day.
Namárië.
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