October 11 is celebrated as 'National' Coming Out Day. How relevant is it now?

Continuing the legacy of the Stonewall riots of 1969 and the subsequent protests by several queer activists, the American queer community inaugurated the National Coming Out Day (NCOD) in 1988. Annually observed on October 11, the day has become a celebration of positivity and respect to the ones who have come out of the closet. 

However, over the years, NCOD has had mixed responses and even though it is now celebrated globally, the American origins of the day serve as a limitation. 

How did it all begin? New York-based lesbian political leader and activist Jean O’Leary and New Mexico-based psychologist Robert Eichenberg were the ones who formally started the practice of observing a Coming Out Day as an occasion to celebrate the coming out experience and raise awareness around the LGBTQIA+ (then termed as LGBT) community.

While Eichenberg and O’Leary were both on the forefront of queer activism in America, they felt that an optimistic move like NCOD can support the otherwise-defensive action against homophobic laws. 

Why October 11? The date October 11 was chosen in remembrance of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987, an integral moment in queer history that was a result of two major happenings in the 1980s: 

-The verdict of the Bowers vs Hardick case that found the Supreme Court criminalising consented sexual activitives among two men in the privacy of a home. 
-The inability and lack of acknowledgment by the Ronald Reagan administration to handle the AIDS crisis that was killing hundreds of queer folks in the country. 

With the motto "For love and for life, we're not going back!", the march witnessed the participation of 7,50,000 individuals. 

The first National Coming Out Day: At the time of the first NCOD, O’Leary served as the President of the National Gay Rights Advocates in Los Angeles. The event was administered from the offices of this organisation with activists from over 18 American states joining in. Media coverage was national in scope. By 1990, the coverage increased finding all the 50 states as participants and even the queer advocacy group Human Rights Campaign joining in as an organising partner. 

Openly-gay pop artist Keith Haring, who is immortalised by his graffiti style of outline figures, designed the logo for Coming Out Day. The simple artwork finds a yellow figure walking out of the closet. Even though the figure is devoid of any expressions, one can feel the sense of confidence that Haring’s art seems to evoke. 

An academic critique of NCOD: While October 11 is globally celebrated among several queer groups, there have been some critics, a major one being writer Preston Mitchum. In his famous 2013 essay “On National Coming Out Day, Don’t Disparage The Closet” (published in The Atlantic), Mitchum pointed out how NCOD has its good intentions but might bring the spotlight on the ones out of the closet at the cost of those who are still closeted. 

Speaking from his experience as a black queer man, Mitchum points out that coming out might not be the safest option, especially for the queer individuals from marginalised communities. The gist of his essay is that even though he praises the bravery of queers for coming out of the closet, the world still has a long way to come in terms of equal intersectional representation. 

What do young Indian queers feel? “It might be observed globally but for me, it just feels like another white American phenomenon,” says 21-year-old Anushree (name changed on request). Anushree, who identifies as lesbian, refers to herself as “partially closeted” given the fact that she has to confidence to be “out” only in front of her close friends and not others (and surely not her parents). 

Going along the same lines, 19-year-old Rajeev, a gay Delhi native, compares such days to the fetishisation of Pride Parade. 

While discussing coming out as an experience, Anushree replies, “Coming out is a different experience for different people. If you have a progressive family, it might be easier and would make for a cute filmy moment or whatever. But for other households, coming out would equal signing a death warrant! So, what would a National Coming Out Day or Pride Month even do for them?”

She still believes that such days would help in normalising attitudes at least among “straight cisgender homophobes”. She’s uncertain if she would have any children in the future but she hopes that by the time the “queer future generations” are born, a day like NCOD would carry more relevance.