Overcoming Fear

This chapter examines how the undocumented immigrant youth movement has evoked “coming out as undocumented and unafraid” to mobilize fearful constituents. It discusses the local and state-level legislative changes for which the movement as advocated, including the federal DREAM Act. It argues that while the DREAM Act never passed, the undocumented immigrant youth movement arguably led President Obama to sign the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order in June 2012, which deferred deportation for “Dreamers” who meet certain criteria on a two-year renewable basis. It further argues that the undocumented immigrant youth movement has successfully challenged cultural understandings by offering an alternative image to that of “illegal immigrants” sneaking across the border—that of educated and talented “DREAMers.”

Airing Dirty Laundry and Squealing on Pigs

This chapter examines the use of coming out tactics to draw attention to sexual violence—focusing on the internet-based #MeToo movement that began in 2017. It shows how the internet-based #MeToo built not only on Tarana Burke’s earlier offline Me Too movement, but also on the Clothesline Project, Take Back the Night marches, and “slutwalks.” It examines the extent to which each of these movements has I dentified the issue of sexual violence versus the identity of the victim, perpetrator, or both. It shows how and why the act of naming one’s harasser, assaulter, or rapist has been controversial—hearkening back to debates over outing in the 1990s. While some worry that people will be falsely accused, others argue that the cards are stacked against victims of sexual abuse and that they need to use whatever means possible to protect and defend themselves.

Producing a Sense of Linked Fate

This chapter focuses on Mormon fundamentalist polygamists. Unlike the groups featured in previous chapters, Mormon fundamentalist polygamists are socially disconnected from the LGBTQ+ rights movement, socially conservative, and disapproving of homosexuality. Yet, by talking of coming out as polygamist, they liken their “lifestyle” to that of gay men and lesbians. This chapter argues that this has been facilitated by talk, among powerful people and institutions, of polygamy and same-sex marriage as analogous—leading many Mormon fundamentalist polygamists to support the legalization of same-sex marriage to create a legal pathway for polygamy. For a small minority of Mormon fundamentalist polygamists, a sense of linked fate with members of sexual minorities seems also to be generating some degree of solidarity with members of sexual minorities. This chapter examines how Mormon fundamentalist polygamists distance themselves from the most notorious polygamist sects, while insisting that polygamy can help women balance work and family.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

This chapter traces the origin of the term coming out to gay men in pre–World War II urban communities, who spoke of coming out into gay society. It recounts how, by the 1970s, coming out had become a political tactic by which people revealed their sexual orientation to friends, neighbors, and co-workers or—in the case of celebrities—more publicly via the mass media in an effort to challenge harmful stereotypes and gain sympathy. It reviews how, in the 1980s and 1990s, coming out was set up in explicit relation to the metaphor of the closet and how the mantra “Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are” became a demand for members of sexual minorities to declare their sexual orientation—bringing forth the “closet case” and “outing.” It considers critiques of the imperative to come out and arguments that gay men and lesbians have moved “beyond the closet.”

Conclusion

This chapter considers how things have changed in the second half of the Obama administration and under the Trump administration. It shows how transgender rights activists used the politics of coming out to make important gains during Obama’s second term. It also shows that while Trump has worked to reverse LGBTQ+ rights during his presidency, public opinion has shifted in ways that are not easily or quickly reversed. Having felt the relief and joy of exiting the closet, people are not willing to return so easily. Dreamers have likewise refused to retreat into the shadows, and the undocumented immigrant movement continues to encourage coming out as a political strategy. Meanwhile, the Trump administration seems to have provided a catalyst for feminist organizing—including but not limited to the issue of sexual harassment and assault, while also emboldening members of the “alt-right,” or white nationalist movement, to “come out of the woodwork.”

Introduction

This chapter argues that coming out has become what sociologists call a “master frame,” a way of understanding the world that is sufficiently elastic and inclusive that a wide range of social movements can use it in their own campaigns. It introduces five movements that are the focus of the book—(1) the American lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) rights movement; (2) the fat acceptance movement; (3) the undocumented immigrant youth movement; (4) the plural-marriage family movement among Mormon fundamentalist polygamists; and (5) the #MeToo movement. It reviews the data and methods that form the basis of the book—participant observation, textual analysis, and 146 in-depth interviews. It argues that disparate groups use coming out to challenge negative stereotypes and overcome oppression, and that the close association of coming out with gay people informs the meaning of the term in other contexts. It previews the subsequent chapters.

Coming Out of Glass Closets

This chapter discusses coming out as fat. It shows how fat lesbian feminists, who were already steeped in talk of coming out as lesbian, first extrapolated from that experience to talk of coming out as fat. It argues that coming out as fat is less about disclosing one’s size than refusing to downplay it in the hopes that others will not notice it. It means politicizing body size in order to challenge negative stereotypes and stand up against weight-based oppression. This chapter uses the case of coming out as fat to consider the broader question of the role visibility plays in coming out. It argues that coming out has never been only about revealing a hidden identity. It is about proudly reclaiming this identity. Thus community and pride—and not just disclosure—are an integral part of coming out.