Why Should Gay People Even Have to “Come Out of The Closet”?

A young man, or woman, pulls his family together for an announcement. He/she is visibly nervous but they feel that they have to do this. The family waits expectantly to see what is in store for them, but they have already guessed. The boy/girl realises that this is a moment that they will never forget. It is also a moment that shall change their life forever. But they do not know whether what will follow shall be acceptance.

I shall stop the scenario right there. I have to ask one thing. Why does this even need to happen?

Yes of cause every gay man or woman should feel true to themselves. They should be open about who and what they are. Nobody should have to feel the need to hide behind a mask. But why should a person even need to come out of the closet.

The idea that heterosexuality is what is “normal” is so vigorously fought against these days (and quite rightly), but why should a person coming out of the closet, and announcing themselves as a gay be such a shocking thing? Why should people even care?

Turn your head to the world of celebrities. How many times have you heard people wonder if a particular celebrity is gay or not? How many times have you wondered if a celebrity is gay or not? I spend a lot of time in online forums, and I have come over so many topics such as “Is Lady Gaga a lesbian?” and “is Justin Bieber gay?” and I pose this question – why do you care? Of all the questions that you could ask, why is their sexuality a main one?

Which leads me onto the next point.

Does your perspective of a person change if you find out if they are gay or not? And if so, why does it?

Even if you are pro-gay (as well you should be), even if you actively defend homosexuality (which you should), does your perspective of a person change if you discover that they happen to be gay?

If you are a gay person, does your perspective of a person change if you discover their sexuality is not what you thought it was, or even what you suspected it to be?

We live in a world where heterosexuality IS thought of as the norm. People do not even need to be necessarily homophobic to feel this way. A person coming out of the closet changes people’s perspective of them. It does not matter whether it is a good perspective, or a bad one, it is a different perspective non-the-less. And why should a perspective change? Do people change into an entirely different person when they come out? No they do not. Sure they may feel safe to act a little more like themselves, rather than act how they feel they should act, but they are still the same person, and no one’s life changes.

The only reason a child feels the need to come out, is because we live in a world where heterosexuality is thought of as the “normal” sexuality and the other three (homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality) are “different”.

The day when a child does not need to feel like they need to announce that they are “different”, would be a day when the world has made further progress.