It's hard to believe that the event that inspired National Coming Out Day occurred nearly a quarter of a century ago. The March on Washington October 11, 1987. I wanted to go but didn't, and I don't remember why not.
I do remember the debate over the number of people who did attend. The National Park Service gave a significantly lower figure than the one the organizers gave. That's a debate that followed most marches on Washington. I would guess that it is also taking place in reporting of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Why? Because so many people see numbers as the indicator of the impact of thee kinds of events. Concrete facts leading to concrete results. But the true impact transcends facts and figures. How do you measure the impact these things have on individual lives? How do you measure transformation?
When I started Coming Out in 1980 the Wisconsin Gay Rights Bill was still a year-and-a-half away from passage, and 46 states still had sodomy statues on their books (Wisconsin wouldn't appeal theirs until after the civil rights legislation became law). The idea of legal marriage wasn't even on the horizon.
And look where we are today.
So do we still need to observe National Coming Out Day?
Yes. Discrimination still happens, just as it does for women and ethnic minorities. Because sexual orientation is not a visible characteristic, many folks still claim they know no queer folks. Over and over again legislators and religious leaders have talked about how their views have changed by hearing real stories from real people. And in spite of the digitalization of our social interactions, face to face sharing of stories still has the most impact.
Face to face sharing of stories still has the most impact. Something to remember as we consider where we go from here. In any movement.
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