Coming out of the closet: According to WIKI (n.d.) 'coming out of the closet' is a voluntary public announcement of one's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Being out: Not concealing one's sexual orientation. (WIKI, 10th)
Being outed: When one's sexual orientation, against one's wishes or without one's consent, is made publicly. (WIKI, 10th)
Outing: A process of disclosing another's sexuality, deliberately, when that person wants to keep this information private. (WIKI, 10th)
In the closet: One who has no heterosexual contact and simply wants to not reveal their sexual orientation. (WIKI, 10th)
Why am I sharing this terminology with the reader? In my opinion, although there are varying spectrums of sexuality, the predominant choice of displayed sexuality in most cultures is heterosexuality. Additionally, there is a still in most cultures, a varying degree of non-acceptance of the other spectrums of sexuality other than heterosexuality. For the non-heterosexual individual there is a varying degree of comfort in exposing one's sexuality publicly for many personal reasons. In my opinion, it is important to be aware and respectful of one's 'being out' or 'being in'. Before writing this post I was not completely knowledgeable on the above terminology and would sometimes say that a person was 'in the closet' when I thought the person in a straight relationship to be gay. Also, before this posting, I was not always the most mindful person before opening my mouth and stating that a particular person was gay. At a later date, I will write more on coming out as, in my opinion, it is an important topic to talk about in any community.
Reference:
WIKI 10th WWW Coming_out (n.d.) Retrieved on July 10, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_out
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