Coming Out Week Creates Community

Sunday, Oct. 11 marked National Coming Out Day 2009 and the beginning of National Coming Out Week.

National Coming Out Day and National Coming Out Week are meant to create awareness of LGBT issues as well as foster a community of support for people who are discovering their own sexual identities, people who are “out,” people who are just coming out, and their allies.

National Coming Out Day was founded in 1988 by Dr. Robert Eichberg and his partner Jean O’Leary to encourage all people of all sexual orientations to take the next step in living openly.

The day is not observed solely in the United States. It is celebrated on October 11 in many countries worldwide, including Switzerland, Germany, and Canada. The United Kingdom also observes National Coming Out Day, albeit on Oct. 12.

Members of Kaleidoscope, Kalamazoo College’s Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) organization, kicked off the week’s festivities by “chalking the quad” Saturday night, an annual tradition in which they color the campus steps and sidewalks and write messages of support with sidewalk chalk.

Kaleidoscope will also be handing out rainbow ribbons for those who wish to show their support for Coming Out Week and LGBT issues in general. LGBT students and allies are also encouraged to wear a different color of the rainbow for each day of the week—red on Sunday, orange on Monday, yellow on Tuesday, green on Wednesday, and so on.

Members and leaders of Kaleidoscope are especially excited about the giant rainbow banner they have purchased, which will be hanging in Hicks all week to remind people about National Coming Out Week.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s huge!” said co-leader Max Wedding K’12.

Kaleidoscope’s leaders hope these activities will increase the group’s visibility on campus and bring people’s attention to issues in the LGBT community. Both leaders of Kaleidoscope like Wedding and group members like Alana Mancuso K’12 are very excited about this prospect.

“It’s not only important for people discovering their identity, it’s a way for people who are out and allies to show support and solidarity,” Wedding said.

One of the goals of Coming Out Week is to create a real sense of community among LGBT individuals, their allies and others, both on Kalamazoo’s campus and on a national scale.

“Coming out” is not just limited to LGBT people either; it is possible to come out as an ally as well.

“Our allies are our most important members of the community in terms of acceptance,” Mancuso said. “They are showing people who may not think about these issues as much that this exists in their community too, 'Oh, this affects me too'.”

Coming out as an ally can mean something as simple as wearing a rainbow ribbon or writing messages of support on your whiteboard for the week.

As Mancuso pointed out, “It sends a really powerful message. Like, even though this doesn’t necessarily affect me directly, it’s something I care about, and I want these people to have the same rights as me.”