ANSWERS: 8
  • Because otherwise there are people (Like the Disney corporation) who say "we don't have to worry about what gay people think, because there's only a couple of them." By standing up and being counted, gays became a significant political force. That has resulted in a dramatic reduction in persecution, and substantial equalization in rights. If 10% of potential customers start boycotting Disney or any other company, those companies start to pay attention.
  • There is always a pressure on them to be heterosexual and they probably get tired of it. You should know how it is, when you are with the guys and it's always "Yeah dude let's go get some girls tonight.." etc. So if you just say you are gay, it takes all that pressure off of you, your parents wondering and asking if you have met a girl yet. If you appeared racist to someone and they wanted you to join their racist group, you would be like: "Wait a minute guys, I'm not racist....". That was just an example.
  • A lot of society still pressures us to be straight. If we aren't, we're expected to shut up, keep it to ourselves and/or pretend to be straight. But why should we do that? I lived a lot of miserable years in the closet. I never lied and pretended to be straight, but I was lonely and depressed. Now, I don't go around announcing it to the world, or making a big issue of who I am, but I certainly email politicians and exercise my right to vote for fair-minded politicians. Certainly, it's no one's business what we do behind closed doors. But, there is a need to make ourselves more visible to gain acceptance and equal rights.
  • LGBT people must stop being "invisible" so that our rights do not disappear as well. People who are given rights automatically do not have a need to fight for them. They do not have to given "reasons" why they should expect equality. Lucky them.
  • I think as the media and politics continue to put a clause in "equal opportunity" more people "come out" to show support for those that have openly advocated for equal rights. I think its a great thing to show/demonstrate solidarity.
  • I have wondered the very same thing, just not necessarily all in the same words.
  • I think it's for two reasons. On a political level, because there are laws in place that make us less than equal and it's tough to change that if you never tell anyone why you care about that. Second, there are a lot of things that aren't "coming out" in the sense of saying, "I'm gay!" But they are coming out in the sense that they allow someone who's watching to figure it out. That includes things like going on dates, moving in together, having a joint checking account, buying a car or a house together, taking vacations together and even going grocery shopping together. I think a lot of us (including me) just figure it's easier to just come right out and tell people because they're going to find out anyway because I'm not going to not do any of the things in the previous paragraph just so no one can tell that I'm gay.
  • Because society has been so determined to hide the truth about homosexuality, gay people start out in the closet, not accepting their homosexuality--often not even being able to comprehend the fact that they are gay. The lucky ones come out quickly. The unlucky stay in the closet all their lives. There is a large gray area around the closet. Some gay people have gay sex and are either so shamed by it that they won't even acknowledge their homosexuality to themselves. Others use rationalization to hide from their homosexuality. Perhaps they don't consider themselves gay because they have families and only have gay sex on the side, or maybe they don't think they are really gay because they are always on top or because they have gay sex, but don't fit common stereotypes about gay people. Most closeted folks acknowledge their homosexuality or bisexuality at some level, but are unable to accept it.

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