October 11th is National Coming Out Day. Every year, colleges across the country have tables out giving out buttons and stickers. Or so I presume since that's what my college did 20+ years ago. I assume it still continues...
I mention it not because today is a particularly special day for me. Frankly, I'm not a holiday person - most "holidays" are just another day to me, and at some level, so is National Coming Out Day. Because let's face it, I'm coming out every day. Well, not quite.. that assumes I am hiding in the closet, and well, I'm not. So, I don't need a special day to prompt me to "come out".
But I know not everyone lives their life the way that I do.
As I have grown older, I have come to realize how hard it is for some folks to come out. And I'm not talking publicly, or sadly, even with their close friends and family. Sometimes even to themselves. And not to say that it was an entirely easy process for me, although I did it at a young age long before I had entrenched myself in, shall we say, the heterosexual lifestyle.
In thinking back, I realize it was another friend who early on in coming out to me told me about her belief about sexuality existing along a spectrum, and frankly that understanding has always seemed to fit.
One of my more popular blog posts is about Married Women [Who] Like Breasts While admittedly, it gets a lot of hits from Google searches (which I'll leave to your imagination), it also seems to have struck a resonance with a lot of women I'm "meeting" lately through this blog and Twitter. Women who are awakening in their sexuality - not simply through mediums like 50 Shades of Grey - but in life. Appreciating what they have, of course, but also wondering what else there might be. Acknowledging in themselves an interest in something different or something more.
I guess what I want my message to be on National Coming Out Day is just a reminder that it's okay to be you. Whoever you are. And to try and find comfort and understanding that you are not alone.
"a reminder that it's okay to be you. Whoever you are. And to try and find comfort and understanding that you are not alone."
ReplyDelete*And that's a beautiful message we should ALL remember.
Bravo. This is beautifully said.
ReplyDelete