What Is Coming Out Day?
The first observed National Coming Out Day (NCOD) was on the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights thirty-three years ago. National Coming Out Day serves as a reminder that one of the most basic tools for LGBTQ is the power of coming out. NCOD is October 11.
Today, coming out as LGBTQ+ still matters tremendously! When people know someone who is LGBTQ+, they are far more likely to support equality under the law. Beyond that, stories can be powerful to each other.
National Coming Out Day is observed annually, in October, to celebrate coming out and to raise awareness of the LGBT community and civil rights movement. In the first ten to twenty years, observances were marked by private and public people coming out, often in the media, to raise awareness and let the mainstream know that everyone knows at least one person who is lesbian or gay. In more recent years, because coming out as LGBT is now far less risky in most Western countries, the day is more of a holiday. Participants often wear pride symbols such as pink triangles and rainbow flags.
National Coming Out Day is also observed in Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) sponsors NCOD events under the auspices of their National Coming Out Project, offering resources to LGBT individuals, couples, parents, and children, as well as straight friends and relatives, to promote awareness of LGBT families living honest and open lives.