October 11th Is Anniversary of 1987 National March on Washington

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HAPPY NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY!!!

Monday, October 11th is the 33rd anniversary of National Coming Out Day. It was 34 years ago that over 200,000 gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, and straight allies marched on Washington to demand equal civil rights and urge the passage of protective civil rights legislation.

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COMING OUT AS LGBTQ+ STILL MATTERS

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According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), “when people know someone who is LGBTQ+, they are far more likely to support equality under the law. Beyond that, our stories can be powerful to each other.” This year the theme of the day is BORN TO SHINE! 

People magazine describes National Coming Out Day as, “an annual celebration with a goal of shining light on individuals within the LGBTQ+ community and their decisions to share their gender identities and sexual orientation with the public.” It is also a day “to support those who choose to keep their identity a secret, or perhaps encourage someone to come out who’s been thinking about it.” Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of coming out to fanfare. We all don’t get cheers and hugs from family and friends.   

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The first National Coming Out Day was created as a day to remind queer people of the power we have coming out. The power we have is much needed in these times. As much progress as we have made in the past 30 years – and boy have we moved mountains! – there is still much that needs to be done. The war for Equality is far from over. Anti-LGBTQ legislation is being created by the homophobic Republican party on a daily basis. Our Transgender brothers and sisters are fighting for their very existence. COMING OUT MATTERS. Your voice is important, it needs to be heard and counted!

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Everyone has the right to come out on their own terms when and how they feel comfortable. Viewers were heartbroken for Simon as his coming out was stolen from him in the feature film, Love Simon. 

“I’m supposed to be the one that decides when and where and how and who knows and how I get to say it. That’s supposed to be my thing. And you took that away from me.”

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Q-Force star Sean Hayes publicly came out in 2013, and in 2016 told the Los Angeles Times that he “owes the gay community an apology for coming out too late.” He went on to say,

“I was so young. It made me go back in the closet [with the media] because I was so overwhelmed at 26 or 27. I didn’t want the responsibility, I didn’t know how to handle the responsibility of speaking for the gay community. I always felt like I owed them a huge apology for coming out too late. Some people in the gay community were very upset with me for not coming out on their terms. They don’t stop to think about what’s going on in somebody’s personal life, and the struggles that they’re having. It was all very scary. We got death threats. It was a really rough time for me, but I was also having the time of my life.”

As mentioned above, everyone has the right to come out when and where and how they want to, and that includes celebrities. And quite a few celebrities came out, in one way or another, in 2021. Here are just a few examples,

Elvira, Jonathan Van Ness, Lil Nas X, Lilly Singh, Ben Platt, Michael Cohen, Willow Smith, Luis Sandoval, Tess Holiday, Sam Smith, Mel Reid, Juan Castano, Valentina, Jake Borelli, Ryan Russell, Julianne Hough, Cameron Hawthorne.

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We here at Instinct stand with HRC and celebrates all who have come out as LGBTQ+ – that takes bravery, and we commend you. Every person who speaks up changes more hearts and minds, and creates new advocates for equality.  

We leave you with country singer Cameron Hawthorne’s video for his hit single, Dancing in the Living Room. The video puts a spotlight on same-sex couples! Remember, we are all BORN TO SHINE! 

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(**this post is solely the opinion of this contributing writer and may not reflect the opinion of other writers, staff or owners of Instinct Magazine.)


Sources: People, HRC

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