Outrage Magazine marks the International Coming Out Day on October 11 with #In2BeOut.
For this campaign, the only lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) publication in the Philippines aims to highlight the importance of visibility of LGBTQIA people by providing a platform for those who are out and proud to share: 1) Why it’s important to be out; 2) How coming out changed their lives; and 3) Call to claim Pride in being LGBTQ as an important step in the fight for equal rights for all.
“We recognize that – for some – coming out can be very difficult as it could cost them (even their lives). But for those who are able to, isn’t it time to take Pride in your personhood? For LGBTQ people to be (even) acknowledged, we first have to be seen. This is but our small contribution to help make this happen,” said Patrick King Pascual, Outrage Magazine senior associate editor, who helms the campaign.
#In2BeOut, adds Pascual, highlights how “we truly are everywhere.”
Various studies have highlighted the benefits of coming out.
For instance, on January 29, 2013, a research conducted by the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at Louis H. Lafontaine Hospital (affiliated with the University of Montreal) and published in Psychosomatic Medicine, noted that lesbians, gays and bisexuals who are out to others have lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout. The research noted that “lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals who were out to family and friends had lower levels of psychiatric symptoms and lower morning cortisol levels than those who were still in the closet.” As such, it underlined “the role self-acceptance and disclosure has on the positive health and well-being of lesbians, gays and bisexuals.”
“Your reason for coming out may be grand – such as to highlight the disparity between the treatment of LGBTQ people all over the world, and the need to change it; or your reason for doing so may seemingly be ordinary – such as the desire to just be able to hold your lover’s hand in public without fear of being derided, just as heterosexual people are able to do. No matter the reason, every coming out is a success story for us all, and serves as a courageous act that gives a blight in the face of hatred,” said Michael David C. Tan, Outrage Magazine editor.
Some of the key LGBTQIA people who gave a shoutout on the importance of coming/being out include filmmakers Cecilio Asuncion and Markie Hancock, GLAAD’s Ross Murray, bklyn boihood’s Ryann M Holmes, cartoonist Sam Orchard, former Ladlad partylist nominee Atty. Raymond Alikpala, and GABRIELA USA’s Irma Bajar and Tina Shauf.
Keep the conversation going by posting photos and videos on Twitter or Facebook with the unified hashtag #In2BeOut. Come out by: 1) Telling the world why you think coming out and/or being out is important; 2) Sharing your personal coming out story; or 3) Enjoining others to take that big leap to live with Pride as part of the LGBTQ family.
Contributed materials to the #In2BeOut campaign is aimed to become a collective resource of the growing Pride of LGBTQ people from all over the world.
