What's the origin of the term "coming out of the closet" for admitting you are gay?
by 
wickedwillie
ANSWERS: 2
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IMO, it's like if you were scared...you'd hide in the closet figuratively speaking...so, when you finally DO come out of the closet, you're saying that you're not scared or ashamed anymore. Not sure if this is the actual origin of the term, however.
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It comes from the term 'to have skeletons in your closet', but its usage for 'coming out gay' is only relatively recent (1960s), and was probably coined as a street slang term of the early gay rights movement.
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