Coming Out for Equality
Why Coming Out Isn’t Enough
Coming out is not enough; we need to create workplaces, classrooms, and communities that are safe enough, inclusive enough, and affirming enough for people to come out into.
Coming out has been personally transformative and healing in my life, so I'm not raining on anyone's parade on National Coming Out Day. My point is that coming out has its limits as a political tool, shifting responsibility for creating LGBTQIA2S+ inclusion onto the very people who've been oppressed by cisheteronormative hierarchies.
The Stories Behind the Selfies
Today my feed is full of my queer and trans siblings proudly proclaiming their truth and celebrating their authentic self. What's invisible to many hetero cisgender folks is the stories behind the selfies--specifically, the great price many of us have paid (and continue to pay) for living openly as queer or trans.
🏳️🌈Some of us lose all our friends.
🏳️⚧️Some of us lose our families. I was disowned by my family when I came out.
🏳️🌈Some of us are discriminated against or fired for being queer or transgender. Almost half of LGBTQIA2S+ workers say they are closeted at work. Nonbinary job-seekers face a clear bias in hiring, and more than half of nonbinary people report having had negative experiences once hired.
🏳️⚧️Some of us are discriminated against in shops and restaurants. A trans friend was denied service at an auto repair shop in my city recently. My spouse and I were denied service at a coffee shop in St Louis.
🏳️🌈Some of us are not safe at school and experience rampant bullying and harassment, including physical assault.
🏳️⚧️Some of us, especially transgender people, are subject to daily indignities related to healthcare, bathroom access, names, and pronouns.
🏳️🌈Some of us do not have access to quality gender-affirming care due to legislative assaults on trans and nonbinary people.
🏳️⚧️Some of us, especially intersex children, are subject to medically unnecessary, nonconsensual "normalizing" surgeries.
Coming Out for Equality
If you're an ally, THANK YOU. We need your support more than ever. National Coming Out Day is a great opportunity to come out loudly and proudly about your allyship.
To all my queer and trans siblings, I see you, I value you, and I am truly honored to work with you to make our communities more inclusive. If anyone is dealing with coming out issues, I'm always happy to be a resource.
I'm a queer studies professor with decades of experience fostering LGBTQIA2S+ inclusion. If you’re ready to make your workplace, school, or organization a place that is safe enough, inclusive enough, and affirming enough for people to come out into, contact me and let’s work together to achieve your DEIB goals.
#lgbtqia2s #NationalComingOutDay #queer #trans #nonbinary #gay #lesbian #intersex #inclusion
