National Coming Out Day

National Coming Out Day is a day to celebrate the diverse identities of LGBTQ+ individuals and the bravery it takes to live authentically as yourself in a culture that may not accept who you are.

Coming out is a continuous process. Each new person or setting and LGBTQ+ person comes into they must assess for safety and decide how much of their identity to disclose to those around them. This adds to the mental load of LGBTQ+ individuals, impacting their health and sense of belonging in the world.

Coming Out Day was founded in 1988 by Richard Eichberg, a psychologist and Jean O'Leary, a gay rights activist, to raise awareness of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and its civil rights movement. They chose October 11th to mark the anniversary of the second major National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which took place 1987. With estimates of half a million people participating, it was nearly five times the size of the first march in 1979. National Coming Out Day is observed throughout the U.S. and other countries around the world.

https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/coming-out-day

On October 11, 1987, over half a million people marched for queer rights in Washington, D.C. — an event that resulted in the founding of several LGBTQ organizations. The progressive momentum of the movement continued over the following year, and LGBTQ activists Rob Eichberg and Jean O’Leary decided to create National Coming Out Day on the march’s first anniversary. NCOD’s logo was famously created by the late artist and HIV activist Keith Haring.

Eichberg, who died of AIDS complications in 1995, was a psychologist and founder of the personal growth workshop, The Experience. O’Leary was an out lesbian political leader and long-time activist from New York and was the head of National Gay Rights Advocates in Los Angeles at the time of NCOD’s founding. Rather than react defensively to oppressive anti-LGBTQ actions, Eichberg and O’Leary’s vision was to create a holiday that celebrated queer identities in order to decrease stigma and homophobia.

https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2019/10/11/coming-out-day-brief-history

For more information on National Coming Out Day and LGBTQ+ resources visit the American Psychological Association’s National Coming Out Day page.

Learning about the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals is a great first step to creating a culture that is accepting and affirming of people’s identities. An inclusive culture makes coming out an easier process. To learn more about the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals visit the following links:

• Some LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced significant trauma regarding religion, a lack of acceptance, and navigating the various aspects of their identity. To learn more about this intersection of identity, listen to the podcast Queerly Beloved.
• National Center for Transgender Equality-Issues Facing the Trans Community
• Watch Disclosure on Netflix for A look at Hollywood's depiction of transgender people and the impact of this on American culture.
• For more resources, visit the Anti-Racism and Equity Coalition’s Resource Page

Visit the Human Rights Council’s Coming Out page for resources to living authentically, the choice to come out, navigating intersectionality of identities, and beginning to understand the experiences of coming out for LGBTQ+ individuals.