Coming out is hard and not coming out, can be even harder. It’s assumed
that all gay people will at some stage in their lives, come out. Or at least
that they should. The base assumption has been that to come out is the right /
proper thing to do.
As the
closet can be a very lonely place. Not just because of the isolation you can
experience from the wider world, but also because a level of disdain and
distrust also exists within the gay community towards people still in the
closet.
Consider it a
form of closet shaming.
If on the one
hand, we celebrate the coming out of an athlete, movie star or musician by
plastering them on magazine covers and ascribing them qualities such as “brave”
and “courageous” – are we not also saying (indirectly at least) that those who
are still in the closet are the opposite of those qualities?
Do you think gay guys in
the closet deserve our collective respect and support?
While coming out is celebrated as being brave and courageous, staying in the closet requires an amazing amount of internal strength. Why?
What are some of the benefits of not coming out?
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