Coming Out for Allies
When GLBT people acknowledge their sexual orientation or gender identity to themselves or another, it is known as "coming out." Coming out also applies to our straight allies as they acknowledge that they know and support a GLBT person and then take the next step by coming out about it to others. Some make a conscious decision to come out to others, and some experience a defining moment that spurs them to speak out. For actress and straight ally Kathy Najimy, a combination of factors inspired her to become a straight ally:
"I started with gay and lesbian rights because I’m a feminist, and I have a really intense sense of fairness and injustice. I started fighting in the mid-’70s when I used to go to a gay disco with a friend of mine, and there would be people standing outside the disco as we came out at one or two in the morning, screaming passages from the Bible. I used to get into these hour-long conversations with them." Conversations with Betty