What It Means to Be "Out"

I've spoken many times about the importance of being out to family, friends, employers and co-workers. Yes, it carries risks - I was forced from a law firm for being gay - but it is the single most powerful thing that any of us can do. Putting a face and personality on what is often a faceless term to those constantly hearing anti-LGBT messages makes people stop and think. Some will remain closed minded bigots, but many more will be forced to rethink their preconceptions. I have seen it happen time and time again in my own experience and as the boyfriend and I move in social circle that sometimes might not be initially LGBT friendly. The more well known and prominent one is, the more powerful the potential to open minds and hearts. A letter to the editor in the Advocate looks at Jane Lynch's example of using celebrity to push the pro-LGBT message. Here are highlights:

Her understanding of being out is far different from the “I’ve never been closeted” line I read so often from celebrities (sometimes in this publication) insisting that telling their parents and friends that they’re gay equals being out. Lynch was out. Those others most often were not.

You’ll forgive me if I descend into a professional gripe over this point. Being out is the most fundamental thing we can do to improve the lives of future generations, and for most of us, it’s as basic (though not to say easy) as telling the people in our lives. But if you’re a person in the public eye and you refuse to say you’re LGBT in a public forum, you’re unequivocally not out. Yes, you have a different standard than the nonfamous. While telling someone how and when to come out is pushing the point further than I care to do, who among us — more than the wealthy and famous — has the luxury of coming out and doing a ton of good in the process? Entertainers, come out. The water’s fine.