Page 4 - Pink Book SA-TAS 2020

PAGE 4
COMING OUT, INVITING OTHERS IN

esbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people medical providers rather than being in the
often go through an internal process of position of making the initial disclosure.
Lquestioning and discovering their sexual- Coming out/disclosure can be a complex,
ity before disclosing to others. fluid and multidimensional process that is re-
Ideas around coming out can be particularly visited at various times in people’s lives, with
problematic for bisexual people who are associated changes in identity over time. It is
often treated like they have one foot in and rarely a simple or singular process for anyone
one foot out of the closet and are critiqued and is considered by many to be a lifelong
for a perceived inability to “make up their process.
mind”. People who are bisexual are increas- For some individuals, there is stress and anxi-
ingly adopting a version of coming out that ety associated with coming to terms with
validates their identity as bisexual people. one’s sexuality or with affirming a gender
Although coming out language is often used identity publicly for the first time. People can
in the context of trans people, they often be afraid of the potential impact of associ-
have a different experience which may be ated life changes, including the potential for
best described as ‘disclosure’. Most trans experiences of discrimination or violence.
people affirm a gender that is independent Research shows that the majority of first sui-
from the one they were assigned at birth, cide attempts by LGBT people are made
rather than coming out as trans. Although prior to disclosing their sexuality or affirming a
many trans people identify as heterosexual, new gender to others. Often the fears of a
managing disclosure can be complex for worst-case scenario are diminished after dis-
trans people who are also lesbian, gay or bi- closure/coming out, particularly when ac-
sexual. ceptance is experienced.
The concept of coming out should generally Coming out is itself shorthand for “Coming
not be applied to people with intersex physi- Out of the Closet”, a phrase coined in the
cal characteristics, as they often discover 1960’s, when public discussions of sexuality
their intersex characteristics from parents or began to open up views of private lives. It

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