Coming OutComing Out is a figure of speech used by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to describe the act of someone disclosing their sexuality or gender identity to someone else. With the momentum gained from the Stonewall Riots of 1969, people began to 'come out of the closet' and join the fight for equal rights for the LGBT community. Before the riots, many felt they needed to hide their sexuality from the world because of societies views of homosexuality at the time, when it was still considered to be a mental disorder and against the law. After the Stonewall Riots, many homosexual reform groups formed to work towards gaining equal rights for the LGBT community, a community that before had seemed like an incredibly small one. At often times, pro LGBT rights groups would use Coming Out as a tactical way of showing others in the community that it is important for them to have the same rights as those who are heterosexuals. The more people that came out as being a homosexual and joined the fight to gain equal rights, the harder they became to ignore
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Popular CultureIn the years since the time of the sexual revolution between the 1960's and 1980's, being a homosexual or a transgender person in society has rapidly become more accepted within society. Along with the publication of many different pro LGBT books, magazines and television shows; major celebrities such as talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, actors Rock Hudson and Neil Patrick Harris used their platforms to come out and inspire others to do the same, hoping to abolish the negative connotation that has been associated with homosexuality for as long as anyone can remember. Changes in medical opinions and laws regarding LGBT issues have allowed for millions of people to come out of the closet and be proud of who they are and accepted in society.
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