[Dance-with-me]

Originally Posted by Daktari

I don't understand.

"...relative, even in the U.S.."?

Sorry if I'm being dense.

Sorry - was posting in haste.

Some folks questioned if Coming Out day was even still relevant.

It may seem irrelevant in larger cities where it appears that coming out is no big deal, but in some areas of the US (as in, not just highly discriminatory countries overseas) it's still a really big deal to come out and to publicly identify yourself as part of the LGBT community. As one of the faculty advisors for the GSA (and the first openly gay employee on this campus) it broke my heart to have to discuss - in 2012, 35 years after I first walked into the women's center on my college campus and picked up a Lesbians United newsletter - things like choosing meeting spaces where outsiders couldn't see who was in the room, what photography policy was needed, and the issues we're having with our fliers disappearing from or being defaced or turned around on the bulletin boards around campus.

Not only that, but even in cities with a large queer population, it's still very relevant for those who come from cultures and communities where being gay is decidedly not ok. Kids are still kicked out of their homes, and people of all ages are still disowned by their families, ostracized from their communities, made unwelcome in their houses of worship, bullied at work or school, harassed in their homes, and fired from their jobs. Until those things diminish, Coming Out Day will continue to be highly relevant.