Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals all over the United States and SIUC will celebrating National Coming Out Day on Wednesday Oct. 11. What exactly is coming out? Coming out is different for everyone. For some, coming out means affirming one’s own personal identity as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. For others it could possibly be telling one’s family or friends. Still others make the decision to go completely public.

Why is all this important? We live in a society that condemns that which they do not understand. Where gay bashing and hate crimes are commonplace, and general no-acceptance and ignorance are even more common, this creates a climate of intolerance that makes it difficult to live honestly. Coming out means that we no longer live a lie; coming out means taking pride in who we are and the people we love- just like everyone else.

Every gay person has had to go through this process, or is currently going through this process. It is a never-ending process, one that we go through everyday, every time we meet someone new, every time we are faced with homophobia and heterosexism. In celebration coming out, we are taking one step close to self-acceptance, and one step closer to dispelling ignorance, hate, and shame about who we are.

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Southern Illinois University has a strong gay, lesbian, bisexual community that is supported by GBLF (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Friends), P-Flag (Parent and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), by the University administration, our families, our friends, gay positive community businesses, and community leaders. TO find out more about how you can support the gays, lesbians and bisexuals in your life ( and believe us- we’re in your life), stop by or call the GBLF office at 453-5151. We are everywhere, we are everyone.